The statue of the Assyrian king Sargon II travels to London and New York, before it is finally returned to Iraq. A figurine of Entemena, the Sumerian king of Lagash, turns up in a warehouse in Queens. Inside elegant emporiums, stylish shops, respected auction houses, Mesopotamian artifacts await their next buyers, while others resurface in street stalls. Several treasures from Nineveh trade hands on London’s Portobello Road. But the easiest targets are the tablets; those from the library of Ashurbanipal are much sought after. Especially the Epic of Gilgamesh. Light and portable, lines from the
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