Iraqi archeologists have recovered a collection of ancient clay tablets, which had been illegally dug out by a man in the country's southern province of Dhiqar.
The cache included 13 tablets bearing Sumerian cuneiform, dating back to the Third Dynasty of Ur, which ruled southern Iraq more than 4,000 years ago.
According to the Iraqi daily Azzaman, the tablets belong to a poorly-protected ancient site near the capital city of Nasiriyah which covers the area where the Sumerian civilization thrived.
"Dhiqar has 12,000 ancient mounds, which are protected by only 98 guards," Head of Nasiriyah Antiquities Office Amer al-Zaidi said.
Ruins of Ur were heavily damaged by the US army which used the site as their main barracks in southern Iraq.
Source: Press TV