Awwal 06, 1432 H/Feb 09, 2011, SPA -- Germany returned an ancient Mesopotamian battle axe to Iraq on Wednesday, after police discovered the item with an antiques dealer in Munich. Iraqi ambassador Hussain Mahmood Fadhlalla al-Khateeb accepted the decorated axe head, which dates back roughly 4,500 years and was found on territory belonging to modern-day Iraq, dpa reported. Police found the axe in 2004, and sent it to the Roman-Germanic museum in Mainz for evaluation, after the owner was unable to produce a certificate documenting its origin. The axe is typical of the military equipment used by early Mesopotamian city states, the museum found.
