At least 100 archaeological artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, reported missing by Iraqi authorities, have been found and confiscated by agents of a special Norwegian police unit, reports Reuters.
The objects were seized by the National Directorate for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crimes of the Nordic country, which assisted the Ministry of Culture in the search.
According to the Norwegian authorities, these are “objects of importance to the world cultural heritage” that would now be examined to “determine their authenticity and establish their provenance”.
The items had been part of a private collection in Norway, and although several witnesses were questioned, there were no criminal charges, a police spokesman told Reuters. Apparently the ancient artifacts may have been smuggled out of Iraq.
