Firm returns artifacts to Iraq

about acquiring Iraqi cultural property because hundreds of thousands of objects had been looted from Iraqi archaeological sites.’’ Company officials ignored the warnings. ‘‘The story should have ended there. Instead Hobby Lobby went ahead and bought the artifacts for US$1.6 million (NZ$2.2m),’’ Donoghue said. The Greens began collecting biblical material in 2009, and have amassed about 40,000 items, the family says. A few hundred are on display in the Washington museum.

Donoghue’s office reached a settlement with Hobby Lobby last July that required the company to forfeit the artifacts, pay a US$3 million fine and submit to federal oversight for 18 months, Donoghue said, adding that the agreement ‘‘served as a deterrent’’ to others considering making deals on the black market.

Hobby Lobby officials did not respond to messages yesterday. When the settlement agreement was announced in July 2017, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green said the company ‘‘should have exercised more oversight and carefully questioned how the acquisitions were handled.’’

The items recovered and repatriated tell the history of life from more than 4000 years ago, explained Yale University professor Eckart Frahm, one of two experts who authorities asked to review the artifacts. Most of the cuneiform tablets Frahm looked at in late 2016 were administrative and legal documents, and most date to 2300-1600 BC Frahm was able to trace some to Irisagrig, an ancient city on the Tigris River. ‘‘The new texts from Irisagrig cast some fascinating light on what is, indeed, quite literally a ‘lost city.’’’ Fareed Yasseen, Iraqi Ambassador

Ahmed Utaifa, centre, from the Embassy of Iraq, talks with reporters about the ancient cuneiform tablets being returned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during a ceremony at the residence of the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States.

AP AP John Russell, an expert on Iraqi antiquities, looks at cuneiform tablets that are being returned to Iraq.