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Looted Ethiopian Treasure Returns Home VOA News 28 Jan 2002 18:08 UTC 
A sacred wooden tablet, stolen by British troops more than a century ago, is back with its rightful, Ethiopian owners.
The religious artifact - a replica of the Ark of the Covenant - was found by chance last year by the Reverend John McLuckie at his church in Scotland, gathering dust in the back of a closet.
The Reverend McLuckie, who has worked in Ethiopia, immediately recognized the tablet's significance - a sacred representation of the box said to have housed the Ten Commandments.
The tabot, as it is known, was one of hundreds of treasures plundered by British soldiers in 1868 at the battle of Maqdala. The troops looted so much from the Ethiopian town that it took 200 mules and 15 elephants to carry it all away.
At a ceremony in Edinburgh Sunday, Reverend McLuckie returned the tablet to priests from Ethiopia's Orthodox Church. Also on hand were members of Britain's Rastafarian community, a group which regards Ethiopia as the Promised Land.
The reverend called the return a gesture of peace at a time when the world is besmirched by conflict.
The Ethiopian government continues to press for the return of thousands of other treasures scattered across Europe.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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