The fabulous gold earnings once worn by an Assyrian queen have been returned to the Iraq Museum, according to the Minister of Antiquities and Tourism Qahtan al-Jibouri.

Jibouri said eight pairs of gold earrings along with three cuneiform tablets were spotted by Iraqi diplomats abroad and an international auction in Washington.

The diplomats notified Interpol whose officers seized the earrings, he added.

It was previously thought that the Nimrud treasure of 613 pieces of gold jewelry, precious stones and ornaments had escaped looting intact.

Together, the treasure weighs about 50 kilograms of pure gold.

The treasure was discovered by a team of Iraqi archaeologists headed by Muzahem Hussein in 1988.

Nimrud, situated near the Biblical city of Nineveh -- whose ruins are scattered within present-day Iraqi city of Mosul -- was the military capital of the Assyrian empire

By Shaymaa Adel
www.azzaman.com