This Tabot was handed over in Addis Ababa on July 1, 2003 by Dr Ian MacLennan, an Irish doctor who spotted it in a London book dealer's catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts and artefacts.

Dr MacLennan, a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, saw the holy Tabot on sale in Maggs Bros book dealers in Mayfair, London.

He bought the Tabot for an undisclosed sum and immediately made plans to fly to Ethiopia to return it.

It is the second Tabot to be returned in recent times.

It was brought to England by Hormuzd Rassam, a scholar and Queen Victoria's Special Representative to Emperor Theodore. It was later purchased by an English collector who recently put his entire stock of Ethiopian books and artefacts on sale through Maggs.

The Tabot was not put on display in Addis Ababa display because of religious considerations. It was handed over to the Ethiopian Church.

Read the BBC's story on the return
Raided Lost Ark returns home (BBC 1 July 2003)

Find out more about the first Tabot to be returned - The Edinburgh Tabot.