Twelve years after a tourist took an ancient Jerusalem stone back to New York as a souvenir, he has returned it to Israel, saying he regrets the theft.

The 40-some-pound stone is believed to date back to the city’s rule under the Muslim Umayyad dynasty some 1,200 years ago. It was probably part of the official palace complex of the Umayyad Caliphs, the Muslim rulers who built the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque during their rule from 660 to 750. The stone was returned by the man, an archaeology student at the time of his visit, in a wooden crate. Attached was a letter saying he had wanted a souvenir with which to pray for Jerusalem but came to realize that taking the stone was a mistake.