CNN —A California man has been convicted for illegally importing an ancient floor mosaic, believed to have been made in modern-day Syria nearly two thousand years ago and valued at almost half a million dollars. The ancient artwork arrived at the port in Long Beach as part of a shipment from Turkey in August 2015. Alcharihi only paid about $12,000 for the antiquity, which an appraisal expert valued at $450,000, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The mosaic weighs a whopping 2,000 pounds and is about 15-feet long and 8-feet tall, according to the release. Alcharihi’s false declarations about the mosaic came just months after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria.

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Persons: Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi, Alcharihi, Prometheus Organizations: CNN, US, Office, United Nations Security, ISIS Locations: Syria, Long Beach, Turkey, Los Angeles