11.5k antiquities from Egypt and Iraq to be repatriated from DC’s Museum of the Bible

Around 11.5k antiquities from Egypt and Iraq are being repatriated by Hobby Lobby president Steve Green, who had collected them for display in the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hobby Lobby was at the center of a scandal over how it was able to acquire its artifacts, and was forced to pay USD 3 mn in 2017 in a lawsuit filed by the US government that alleged it had smuggled 3.8k Iraqi antiquities out of the country by mislabelling them, all of which were returned two years ago. The latest trove of artifacts to be repatriated consist of some 5k ancient papyrus fragments and 6.5k ancient clay objects.