A 3000-year-old inscribed cuneiform tablet was confiscated at Heathrow Airport by an astute Border Force officer who became suspicious when the declaration described a "carved stone for decoration" worth "300" in an unspecified currency. The officer searched the object on Google before contacting the British Museum, which confirmed that it was an authentic Babylonian kudurru, a document recording a gift from a king to one of his subjects, often used as a boundary stone. The tablet includes depictions of the Babylonian gods Enlil and Marduk one side and dates to the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar I (circa 1126-1103 BC). Little is known about this lesser known Nebuchadnezzar's reign; the more famous Nebuchadnezzar II (circa 605-562 BC) is the Babylonian king of the same name who is known in Scripture (ie. Jeremiah, Kings, Chronicles, Daniel, etc.). Officials believe the artifact was illegally looted during the Iraq War. The British Museum will be officially handing the kudurru over to the Iraqi government in an ceremony later this month.
Off-site Links:
- https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/mar/10/babylonian-treasure-seized-at-heathrow-to-be-returned-to-iraq
- http://time.com/5554732/iraq-war-tablet-looted-return-uk/
- http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/uk-returns-3-000-year-old-tablet-looted-during-iraq-war-142037
