The Artifacts Are Finally Headed Home

Hobby Lobby has been in the news, and it’s not for fun arts and crafts reasons. Hobby Lobby reportedly purchased thousands of smuggled ancient Iraqi artifacts in 2010 from dealers in the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Now the retailer is returning them following a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department. The company has to pay a $3 million fine and return the smuggled goods. The artifacts being returned include cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals and clay bullae, ICE said.

This didn’t just come to the light, though. This move happened after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with the Justice Department brought a civil action against the retailer last year. The reason? Hobby Lobby labeled Iraqi artifacts from a United Arab Emirates-based supplier. In July of last year, the company agreed to forfeit what was stolen and pay the $3 million fine to resolve the action. The age of some of these artifacts is rather astonishing. Some ranged back to 2100 to 1600 BC, with other artifacts possibly being 500 years older.

CNN reports that, according to the DOJ, “the dealers working with Hobby Lobby falsely labeled the shipments as ‘ceramics’ and ‘samples’ and illegally shipped them to Hobby Lobby stores and two corporate offices.”