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Rare Gilgamesh Dream Tablet scheduled for return to Iraq, after Hobby Lobby purchased it

A rare and ancient tablet containing one of the world's oldest works of literature will finally be returned to Iraq.

In 2014, Hobby Lobby purchased the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet for over $1.6 million. In July, the U.S. Justice Department said it should be in Iraq and not owned by the U.S. arts and craft store.

“This exceptional restitution is a major victory over those who mutilate heritage and then traffic it to finance violence and terrorism,” Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay told USA Today. “By returning these illegally acquired objects, the authorities here in the United States and in Iraq are allowing the Iraqi people to reconnect with a page in their history.”

The artifact, known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, originated from now modern-day Iraq and features the Sumerian poem of Gilgamesh. The poem is one of the world's oldest works of literature.

The formal handover ceremony of the tablet is scheduled for Thursday at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

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Hobby Lobby planned to display the tablet in its Museum of the Bible, a museum founded by owners of the craft store chain, Steve and Jackie Green.

What the auction house didn't admit was that the dealer who sold the artifact, Jordanian Antiquities Association, had the tablet shipped to the U.S. in 2003 without declaring the contents as required. They also wrongfully claimed they discovered it in a box of miscellaneous fragments in 1981, according to the release.

Before purchasing the tablet, Hobby Lobby and the museum asked the auction house about the tablet's history. The Justice Department confirmed that the auction house withheld information and lied.

Now, the tablet will be placed back into Iraq's hands for the first time in years.

“[The return of the tablet] is a significant victory in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects," Unesco said.

Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gilgamesh Dream Tablet headed to Iraq after Hobby Lobby purchase