
US announces return of Iraqi artifacts taken from museum during 2003 invasion
Fox News
At the time of the invasion, the plundering of the Iraq Museum's collection became the subject of debate on Washington's ability to maintain order in Iraq.
Instead, it was determined that the pieces were smuggled into the U.S., where they were purchased through various galleries and online auctions by a private collector between 2004-2009. Three stamp seals dating to between the Mesopotamian (2700-2500 B.C.E.) and the Neo-Babylonian (612-539 B.C.E.) periods. (Manhattan District Attorney's Office) Four cylinder seals dating to between the Mesopotamian (2700-2500 B.C.E.) and the Neo-Babylonian (612-539 B.C.E.) periods. (Manhattan District Attorney's Office) Jeff Zymeri is a Fox News Digital Production Assistant. Find him on Twitter @jeffzymeri
The seven objects consist of three stamp seals and four cylinder seals, dating to between the Mesopotamian (2700-2500 B.C.E.) and the Neo-Babylonian (612-539 B.C.E.) periods. The seals would have been used to make impressions on wet clay, with the cylinder seals being rolled onto the two-dimensional surface.