Iraqi Cultural Minister Hassan Nazim accepted the tablet during a ceremony in Washington. "To me, it means restituting self-esteem and the confidence in Iraqi society."
The ancient artefact has immense cultural and historical value. It contains portions of the "Epic of Gilgamesh," considered one of the oldest works of literature in human history, which tells the story of a powerful Mesopotamian king on a quest for immortality.
Some 17,000 antique artefacts were already returned to Iraq from the United States in July. The pieces mostly dated from the Sumerian period, some 4,000 years ago, one of the oldest civilisations in Mesopotamia.