Thousands of years old tablets returned to Iraq: Culturally unique documents

A handover ceremony was held at the Republic Museum in Ankara with the participation of Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı and Iraqi Ambassador to Ankara Majid Abdulreda Hassan Al-Lachmawi.

Stating that they returned six cuneiform clay tablets determined to be of Iraqi origin by scientific data to their homeland, Yazgı said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Iraq were contacted to share information and documents regarding the return of cultural assets to their country of origin. The deputy minister continued as follows:

"Iraqi authorities approached the process with great sensitivity and contributed to the return with the contributions of their own experts. The tablets returned today belong to the ancient Akkadian, Third Ur and ancient Babylonian periods. The contents of the tablets, the writing styles and the terminology used are directly related to the centers in Southern Iraq. These tablets are unique documents in terms of scientific and cultural aspects, providing a wide range of information from daily transactions to priest lists and records of valuables."

THE NUMBER HAS INCREASED TO 97

According to the Deputy Minister, the number of cultural assets returned by Türkiye to Iraq is as follows by year:

2010: Four2019: 812022: Six

2025: Six

TABLETS WITH ECONOMIC AND RELIGIOUS CONTENT

The artifacts, returned by a volunteer collector and determined to belong to Iraq through scientific examination by experts from the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, contain economic, administrative and religious content.

One of the works, dated to the 22nd-21st centuries BC (BC), belongs to the 3rd Ur period and was written in the Sumerian alphabet.

On another tablet, sheep and goat species are listed in the writing system of the ancient Akkadian period, dating back to the 24th-23rd centuries BC. Payments made for these animals are recorded. The text in question is considered an example of an economic document.

Another tablet, arranged for daily transactions, dates to the reign of the 3rd Ur period king Ibbi-Sin (21st century BC). The writing style and content are similar to typical administrative documents of the period.

The analysis and historical classification of the works were made by Prof. Dr. Selim Ferruh Adalı.