ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi embassy in Ankara received six ancient clay tablets from Turkey on Monday, dating back to the Mesopotamian civilization, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement.

Ambassador Majid al-Lajmawi held a ceremony with Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Gokhan Yazici, during which he thanked the country “for this invaluable cultural initiative” and noted both neighbors’ efforts to “protect their shared cultural heritage,” the statement read.

“These tablets represent an essential part of the ancient cultural heritage of Mesopotamia and are proof of Iraq's pioneering role in humanity’s history, especially in inventing writing and establishing systems of government and administrative organization since early civilizations,” the statement quoted Lajmawi as saying during the ceremony.

The historical region of Mesopotamia spanned modern-day Iraq and parts of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Kuwait, giving rise to numerous civilizations including those of the Babylonians and Sumerians. Myriad relics have been discovered by archeologists, with Mesopotamian societies having played a salient role in the development of mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture.

For his part, Yazici emphasized that Ankara supports Iraq's efforts to recover its "looted heritage," the Iraqi statement detailed.

Iraq continues to work with international organizations, including UNESCO and Interpol, to retrieve smuggled artifacts.

Iraqi law classifies antiquities theft as a serious crime. Under the Antiquities and Heritage Law No. 55 of 2002, offenders face prison sentences from seven to 15 years, along with fines up to six times the estimated value of the stolen artifact.

The law imposes a life sentence for individuals responsible for managing or protecting stolen antiquities. If theft involves coercion or armed individuals, the penalty can escalate to death.

Iraq has successfully recovered around 23,000 artifacts, belonging to Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations, from the US and Europe that were smuggled out after the US-led invasion in 2003, according to the Supreme Judicial Council.

“The number of artifacts recovered in the past decade is approximately 23,000,” Judge Nabil Karim of the Central Investigation Court stated in early May.

“France returned 3,500 artifacts in 2017, Germany returned 150, and in 2019, the UK returned 700. Another 2,000 pieces were recovered from various countries. In 2021 alone, Iraq reclaimed 17,000 artifacts from the US,” Karim noted.