Baghdad (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities announced Friday the recovery of an ancient Assyrian panel from Britain.

The artifact was formally handed over to the Iraqi embassy in London during a ceremony, the ministry said in a statement.

The panel, believed to date from between 883 and 859 BC, is a roughly square stone weighing 333 kg. It measures 1.15 meters on one side and 1.1 meters on the other, is 1.1 meters wide, and is between 11 and 12 cm thick, the statement added.

This recovery is part of the Iraqi government's ongoing efforts to repatriate smuggled antiquities.

Many Iraqi antiquities and archaeological sites were looted or destroyed following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.