Lebanon returns 337 artifacts of different eras to Iraq

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture has handed over to Iraq 337 ancient artifacts that had been on display in a Lebanese museum for years. The items, which included clay tablets, were returned by Minister of Culture Mohammed Murtada to Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon during a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut on Sunday. Murtada told Iraq’s state-run news agency in a Saturday report that a Lebanese committee had been investigating the items since 2018. The artifacts had been stored most recently at the private Nabu Museum in northern Lebanon. The report gave no further details about the artifacts’ provenance.