By Sarah Whitten, CNBC • Updated 4 hours ago SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images A 3,500-year-old clay tablet purchased by the Hobby Lobby arts and crafts chain for $1.6 million has been forfeited to the United States. The tablet was illegally transported to the U.S. in 2003 and 2014. In a complaint filed in May 2020, prosecutors said the 5-by-6-inch tablet is considered the property of the Iraqi government and should be returned. A 3,500-year-old clay tablet purchased by the Hobby Lobby arts and crafts chain for $1.6 million has been forfeited to the United States. The tablet, which bears a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian poem considered one of the world's oldest works, originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and was illegally transported to the U.S. in 2003 and 2014.