"Stolen' Artifacts from Iraq
Oct 27, 2015 7:36:34 GMT -6
Mystic Wanderer, Glencairn, and 1 more like this
Post by Nugget on Oct 27, 2015 7:36:34 GMT -6
The billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby are being investigated for the possibly smuggling of hundreds of ancient Middle Eastern biblical artifacts.
The investigation began in 2011, after US Customs in Memphis seized nearly 300 small clay tablets that were supposed to be delivered to the Hobby Lobby headquarters in Oklahoma City.
The tablets contained cuneiform script, one of the earliest known systems of writing.
It emerged in the ancient civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia, known today as Iraq.
'There was a shipment and it had improper paperwork,' he said. 'Incomplete paperwork that was attached to it.'
'Sometimes this stuff just sits, and nobody does anything with it.'
But an individual close the investigation told The Daily Beast that hundreds of hours of interviews have been accumulated regarding the case.
And another source said the Greens only assigned a monetary value of $300 to the tablets they titled 'hand-crafted clay tiles' on their FedEx shipping label.
This both hid the artifacts cultural identity and was a vast underestimate of their monetary value, according to the Daily Beast.
Shipments valued over $2,500 are required to undergo formal entry through US Customs and Border Protection, a much more extensive process than the expedited informal entry.
Hobby Lobby CEO Steve Green told The Daily Beast it's possible his family's collection contains some 'illicit' artifacts, but if it does it is without his knowledge.
The Green family has accumulated a $4.5billion fortune since launching their craft store in 1970, with more than 600 shops now doting the nation.
But it wasn't until last year that the chain shot into the headlines, winning a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled they were exempt from providing birth control to employees due to their Christian beliefs.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3291107/Hobby-Lobby-family-federal-investigation-possibly-smuggling-biblical-artifacts.html
The tablets contained cuneiform script, one of the earliest known systems of writing.
It emerged in the ancient civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia, known today as Iraq.
'There was a shipment and it had improper paperwork,' he said. 'Incomplete paperwork that was attached to it.'
'Sometimes this stuff just sits, and nobody does anything with it.'
But an individual close the investigation told The Daily Beast that hundreds of hours of interviews have been accumulated regarding the case.
And another source said the Greens only assigned a monetary value of $300 to the tablets they titled 'hand-crafted clay tiles' on their FedEx shipping label.
This both hid the artifacts cultural identity and was a vast underestimate of their monetary value, according to the Daily Beast.
Shipments valued over $2,500 are required to undergo formal entry through US Customs and Border Protection, a much more extensive process than the expedited informal entry.
Hobby Lobby CEO Steve Green told The Daily Beast it's possible his family's collection contains some 'illicit' artifacts, but if it does it is without his knowledge.
The Green family has accumulated a $4.5billion fortune since launching their craft store in 1970, with more than 600 shops now doting the nation.
But it wasn't until last year that the chain shot into the headlines, winning a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled they were exempt from providing birth control to employees due to their Christian beliefs.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3291107/Hobby-Lobby-family-federal-investigation-possibly-smuggling-biblical-artifacts.html
