Lapis lazuli stamp seal Bronze Age, about 2400-2000 BCE From the ancient Near East, Height: 3.100 cm Thickness: 2.500 cm Width: 4.000 cm ME 1992-10-7,1Room 52: Ancient Iran British Museum
This stamp seal is a good example of lapis lazuli used by a scribe of Meluhha hieroglyphs (Indus writing). This points to the trade in lapis lazuli by Meluhha artisans/merchants.
karaḍa 'double-drum' Rebus: karaḍa 'hard alloy'. Alternative: ḍhol ‘drum’ (Gujarati.Marathi)(CDIAL 5608) Rebus: large stone; dul ‘to cast in a mould’.
Mountain-range. -- ḍāngā= hill, dry upland (B.); ḍã̄g mountain-ridge (H.)(CDIAL 5476). Rebus 1: damgar, tamkāru ‘merchant’ (Akkadian).
Bull ḍhangar‘bull’ Rebus: dhangar‘blacksmith’ (Maithili) ḍangar‘blacksmith’ (Hindi)
miṇḍāl‘markhor’ (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (G.)(CDIAL 10120); rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ‘iron’ (Mu.Ho.)
Alternative: melh ‘goat’ (Br.); milakkhu ‘copper’ (Pali) Meluhha (Akkadian) cognate Mleccha (Sanskrit)
tagara ‘ram’ Rebus: tagara ‘tin’ damgar ‘merchant’ (Akkadian)
Did lapis lazuli trade into Sumer through Araṭṭa?
"The Ninevite Gigamesh Epic, composed probably at the end of the second millennium BC, has Utnapishtim settled "at the mouth of the rivers", taken by all commentators to be identical with Dilmun." (W.F.Albright, The Mouth of the Rivers, AJSL, 35 (1919): 161-195).
Amongst the earliest evidence of Harappan carnelian in Mesopotamiaare four 14-15-cm-long barrel-cylinder beads (Fig. XII. 7) from the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Tosi 1980:450).
The mouth of the rivers may relate to the Rann of Kutch/Saurashtra lying at the mouth of the Sindhu and Sarasvati rivers. In the Sumerian myth Enki and Ninhursag, which recounts a Golden Age, paradise is described: "The crow screams not, the dar-bird cries not dar, the lion kills not... the ferry-man says not 'it's midnight', the herald circles not round himself, the singer says not elulam, at the outside of the city no shout resounds." The cry of the sea-faring boatmen in Indian languages on the west-coast is: ēlēlo !
Lines 123-129; and interpolation UET VI/1:
"Let me admire its green cedars. The (peole of the) lands Magan and Dilmun, Let them come to see me, Enki! Let the mooring posts beplaced for the Dilmun boats! Let the magilum-boats of Meluhha transport of gold and silver for exchange...The land Tukris' shall transport gold from Harali, lapis lazuli and bright... to you. The land Meluhha shall bring cornelian, desirable and precious sissoo-wood from Magan, excellent mangroves, on big ships The land Marhashi will (bring) precious stones, dushia-stones, (to hang) on the breast. The land Magan will bring copper, strong, mighty, diorite-stone, na-buru-stones, shumin-stones to you. The land of the Sea shall bring ebony, the embellishment of (the throne) of kingship to you. The land of the tents shall bring wool... The city, its dwellin gplaces shall be pleasant dwelling places, Dilmun, its dwelling place shall be a pleasant dwelling place. Its barley shall be fine barley, Its dates shall be very big dates! Its harvest shall be threefold. Its trees shall be ...-trees."
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Meluhha carried out bead production on a phenomenal scale resulting in the finds of millions of paste beads, thousands of agate, carnelian beads. The tomb at Tell Abraq had 600 beads including those made of lapis lauli, etched carnelian and agate, shell, paste and serpentine, almost all from Meluhha.
A number of scholars have pointed out the possibility that tin arrived with gold and lapis lazuli in Sumer through the same trade network, linking Afghanistan with the head of the Gulf, both by land and sea (Stech and Pigott 1986: 41-4)."( Moorey, PRS, 1994, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries, Oxford, Clarendon Press pp. 298-299)."Late Uruk Sumerian engravers frequently employed the colummella of the Indian shank shell (turbinella pyrum) for their cylinder seals…If we have to believe to the cuneiform texts that insistently ascribe to Meluhha the lapis lazuli trade, Meluhhan traders would also have promoted the flowing, in a relatively short time, of incredible amounts of the blue stone at the courts of Ur…”(Vidale, M., pp.271-2).
This stamp seal was originally almost square, but because of damage one corner is missing. Originally two figures faced each other. The one on the left has largely disappeared. On the right is a man with his legs folded beneath him. It is suggested that at the top are rain clouds and rain or a fenced enclosure. Behind the man are a long-horned goat above a zebu. This last animal is related in style to similar creatures depicted on seals from the Indus Valley civilization, which was thriving at this time. There were close connections between the Indus Valley civilization and eastern Iran. One of the prized materials that was traded across the region was lapis lazuli, the blue stone from which this seal is made.
The Sar-i Sang mines in the region of Badakhshan in north-east Afghanistan were probably the source for all lapis lazuli used in the ancient Near East. From here it was carried across Iran, where several lapis working sites have been discovered, and on to Mesopotamia and Egypt. Another source for lapis lazuli exists in southern Pakistan (a region of the Indus Valley civilization) but it is unclear if they were mined at the time of this seal.
D. Collon, 'Lapis lazuli from the east: a stamp seal in the British Museum', Ancient Civilizations from Scy, 5/1 (1998), pp. 31-39
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
The seal with Indus script glyphs is decoded as bead-maker, (with) furnaces to cast copper and iron (see discussion on rebus readings of glyphs in the following paragraphs).
cylinder_seal_cattle_louvre_mnb19061
Mesopotamia: Early Dynastic Period
Southern Mesopotamia was divided between competing city-states during the period 2900-2300 BC. This so-called Early Dynastic period has three subdivisions based on archaeological finds made by the Oriental Institute of Chicago in the area of the Diyala, east of modern Baghdad. Early Dynastic I (around 2900-2800 BC) saw the emergence of large independent cities such as Uruk. The cities were controlled by a king and his family, who owned vast estates.
Early Dynastic II (around 2800-2600 BC) saw an increase in building and an improvement in the quality of artistic products like chlorite bowls, which also show connections with regions beyond Mesopotamia. The Early Dynastic II may be the period of rulers, like Gilgamesh, whose names survive in later legends.
The earliest writing is largely administrative, but by the beginning of Early Dynastic III (2600-2300 BC) inscribed clay tablets contain many literary texts, including poetic hymns. Some of the best evidence for this period comes from the Royal Graves at Ur and the Dynasty of Lagash.
Gypsum statue of a man
Provenance unknown, Mesopotamia Early Dynastic III period, about 2500-2200 BCE Height: 29.300 cm Width: 13.400 cm (at base) ME 134300 Room 56: Mesopotamia
A votive offering
This gypsum statute was deposited in a temple to pray on behalf of the donor. It may have been set up in his lifetime or possibly as a memorial after his death. He wears a fleece skirt often referred to as a kaunakes.
The statue was made at a time when southern Mesopotamia was politically fragmented between city-states, competing for control of farmland, water and trade.
Where objects have not been excavated and their origin is unknown, it is often possible to date them by comparing them with dated examples. The style of votive figurines like this one can be shown to change through time. This one dates to a period known as Early Dynastic III.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/m/mesopotamia_early_dynastic_pe.aspxAragonite (shell) cylinder seal with a contest scene
From Mesopotamia Early Dynastic Period, about 2400-2350 BCE Length: 2.900 cm Diameter: 1.900 cm Acquired in 1877 ME 89078 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Two hero figures wrestle with a stag while two gods (distinguished by their horned head-dress) grapple with a human-headed bull and a bull. These gods wear an early style of head-dress with multiple horns either side of a small cone; for later versions of this head-dress, see the seal of Adda, also in the British Museum.
Early examples of contest scenes show ordinary men spearing or stabbing wild animals. However, during the second half of the third millennium BC, the designs became increasingly monumental in style. Ordinary men gave way to 'heroes' with elaborate hair styles, joined by bull-men (who may have their origin to the east of Mesopotamia in Iran). Analyses of seals found in graves have suggested that seals with combat scenes had male owners, while seals owned by women were carved with 'banquet scenes'.
The central inscription on this seal seems to make no sense, but might possibly be the name of the seal owner.
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
Dynasty of Lagash
Lagash was one of the most important kingdoms in southern Mesopotamia during the second half of the Early Dynastic Period, about 2500-2300 BC. The kings of this dynasty built many temples and went to war with neighbouring city-states. They recorded their achievements in Sumerian cuneiform on clay tablets and also on stone and metal objects deposited in the temples.
Inscriptions describe the ruler as the protector of the city in the name of the patron god (Ningirsu) for whom he cared by building and maintaining temples. Another crucial role of the ruler was as military leader. The best recorded conflict was between Lagash and the kingdom of Umma. The dispute over local farmland which went on for generations. The dynasty was eventually brought to an end by the ruler of Umma who conquered Lagash.
Much of what we know of the dynasty comes from excavations by the French at the site of Girsu (modern Tello), which was clearly a major city within the kingdom of Lagash. It has been possible to reconstruct the order of kings in this dynasty: Ur-Nanshe, Akurgal, Eanatum, Enanatum I, Entemena, Enanatum II, Enentarzi, Lugalanda, Uruinimgina.
Tello (ancient Girsu, Iraq)
All that remains of Tello (ancient Girsu) are mounds that cover an area of more than 100 hectares (247 acres). In antiquity the settlement was connected to al-Hiba (ancient Lagash), twenty-five kilometres to the south, by a branch of the Euphrates.
Tello was the first Sumerian site to be extensively excavated. The French vice-consul at Basra, Ernest de Sarzec, worked there from 1877-1900 and sent spectacular finds from the site to Paris. These included masterpieces of Sumerian art such as the beautifully carved statues of Gudea (now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris). Subsequent excavations were undertaken by the French: in 1903-9, 1929-31 and, the most important, directed by A. Parrot in 1931-33.
Many details of Tello's archaeology remain obscure, partly because of poor excavation standards and partly because the site has suffered badly from illicit excavations, which produced up to 40,000 cuneiform tablets. There is evidence for Ubaid (fifth millennium BC) occupation at the site but the main period of settlement was during the Early Dynastic period (2500-2300 BC). Ancient documents suggest that Girsu was then the capital city of the state of Lagash.Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III)
Following the collapse of the Agade empire, the centre of power in southern Mesopotamia shifted to the cities of Uruk and Ur. The governor of Ur, Ur-Nammu, established a dynasty which came to dominate the other cities of the region, and whose territory stretched east into Iran. Under his successor, Shulgi, the empire was consolidated and centralised.
Shulgi was named as a god in many ancient documents. This gave him great power and followed a tradition established by the earlier rulers of Agade. He was succeeded by Amar-Sin and Shu-Sin, under whom many of the communication and supply routes across the empire were disrupted by groups of pastoralists (Amorites). This situation reached crisis point under the next ruler, Ibbi-Sin. With reduced supplies the empire was unable to effectively confront an attack by the Elamites from the east; Ur was destroyed and Ibbi-Sin was taken into exile.
Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (2112-2095 BC)
Ur-Nammu, began his rise to power as governor of the city of Ur. He appears to have been appointed by Utuhegal, ruler of Uruk, who was attempting to establish domination of south Mesopotamia following the decline of the empire of Agade. Ur-Nammu became an independent king and founded a line of rulers known today as the Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III). All southern Mesopotamia was conquered by the new ruler, and a major building programme was initiated with religious buildings, including the first true ziggurat towers, constructed in Ur, Uruk, Eridu, and Nippur. The best preserved of these structures is at Ur.
Almost all administrative texts of the Dynasty were written in Sumerian, which was the language of education and bureaucracy. Among the few personal details known about the Ur III kings is that Ur-Nammu was killed in battle, 'abandoned on the battlefield like a crushed vessel'. The empire was consolidated by his son Shulgi.
Foundation figure of Ur-Nammu
From Uruk, southern Iraq Third Dynasty of Ur, about 2100-2000 BCE Height: 27.300 cm ME 113896 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The king as a temple builder with a basket of earth to make bricks
This bronze figure represents Ur-Nammu, the ruler of Ur (about 2112-2095 BC). It was made for burial in the foundations of a temple of Uruk. It was one of the duties of a Mesopotamian king to care for the gods and restore or rebuild their temples. In the late third millennium BC, rulers in southern Mesopotamia depicted themselves carrying out this pious task. Ur-Nammu lifts up a large basket of earth for making bricks. The copper 'peg' acted as a record for posterity and to receive the god's blessing.
The cuneiform inscription around and over the king's body states that Ur-Nammu dedicated the figure to Inana (Ishtar), the patron deity of Uruk. It also records the restoration of her temple called Eanna 'the house of heaven'. Her name appears to mean 'the lady of heaven'. She was associated with the goddess Ishtar and the planet known to us as Venus.
Towards the end of the third millennium BC, southern Mesopotamia was united under the control of the city of Ur. Ur-Nammu founded the empire, which stretched into Iran. He was a prodigious builder. The most impressive monuments of his reign were ziggurats which he constructed at various cities. Although not unlike the stepped pyramids of Egypt in appearance, ziggurats were made of solid brickwork and did not have tombs inside.
J.E. Reade, Mesopotamia (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)
H.W.F. Saggs, Babylonians (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
E.D. Van Buren, Foundation offerings and figur (Berlin, H. Schoetz & Co., 1931)Agade/ Akkadian Dynasty
The period succeeding the Early Dynastic in southern Mesopotamia is named after the city of Agade (or Akkad), whose rulers united the region, bringing the competing Sumerian cities under their control by conquest. The precise dates of the Agade dynasty are disputed by modern scholars, but it lasted about 150 years from about 2330 BC. The city of Agade itself has not so far been certainly located, but it was probably founded before the time of Sargon (about 2334-2279 BC), the dynasty's first king.
Sargon conquered southern Mesopotamia (Sumer) and led military expeditions to conquer further east and north. He was succeeded by two of his sons, Rimush and Manishtushu, who consolidated the dynasty's hold on much of Mesopotamia. The empire reached its greatest extent under Naram-Sin (about 2254-2218 BC), and there are references to campaigns against powerful states in the north, possibly including Ebla. Control was maintained under Naram-Sin's successor, Shar-kali-sharri (about 2217-2193 BC), though at the end of his reign there appears to have been a power struggle for the throne. A number of city rulers re-established their independence in southern Mesopotamia, and the territory ruled over by the last kings of Agade (Dudu and Shu-Turul) had shrunk back to the region directly around the city.Agade
Ancient documents describe the city of Agade (also spelt Akkade) as the capital city of King Sargon (about 2334-2279 BC). The site of the ancient city has never been located, although descriptions indicate that it was in the upper part of the southern Mesopotamian plain. One suggestion is that it may have been at Ishan Mizyad, where there is a large unexplored mound. Later references suggest that it lay near the confluence of the Rivers Tigris and Diyala.
Sargon and his dynastic successors conquered much of Mesopotamia, and their capital city probably reflected their wealth and power. Royal inscriptions talk of the quays where boats from as far afield as Magan and Meluhha (possibly Oman and the Indus Valley) docked and unloaded their exotic goods. Agade's patron deity was Ishtar; ancient poems describe how the goddess abandoned her temple, causing the city to be destroyed by invaders. Agade certainly continued to exist as a town even after the collapse of the Akkadian empire around 2100 BC, and was inhabited into the early Hellenistic period (third century BC), though it never again played a prominent political role. However, from the twenty-first to the seventh century BC Sumerian and Babylonian kings continued to use the title 'King of Sumer and Akkad'.Stone mould
From Sippar, southern Iraq End of the Early Bronze Age, about 2250-1900 BCE Length: 8.960 cm Width: 6.100 cm Height: 2.070 cm ME 91902 Room 54: Anatolia and Urartu
A 'portable trinket factory'
This mould could be used for casting female figurines, pins, pendants and amulets. It is a type widely used in the Near East over a long period of time. Although this example was found in southern Iraq, many of the images correspond to Anatolian styles. This suggests that the owner of the mould may have originated in the north.
The dowel-holes and the pour-channels indicate that this was a closed mould. The missing half must have had corresponding holes which would have permitted it to be dowelled tightly against this surface while the metal was poured in and allowed to solidify. Study of objects which were probably cast in similar moulds suggests that the metal used was lead.
Moulds such as this have been described by J.V. Canby as 'portable trinket factories', and were perhaps used by travelling smiths.
J.V. Canby, 'Early bronze 'trinket' moulds', Iraq-4, 27 (), pp. 42-61
K. Emre, Anatolian lead figurines and t (Ankara, 1971)
Stone mould
Old Babylonian Period, about 18th century BCE From Nineveh, northern Iraq Height: 7.300 cm Width: 5.500 cm Thickness: 1.600 cm ME 92666 Room 54: Anatolia and Urartu
A 'portable trinket factory'
This mould could be used for casting figures of a bearded god wearing a high hat and a goddess with an elaborate necklace. Both deities are wearing a flounced garment that is often depicted on cylinder seals (for example, the seal of Adda, also in The British Museum). The mould is a type widely used in the Near East over a long period of time. Although this example was found in northern Mesopotamia, aspects of the images relate to Anatolian styles. This suggests that the owner of the mould may have originated from further north.
The dowel-holes and the pour-channels indicate that this was a closed mould. The missing half must have had corresponding holes which would have permitted it to be dowelled tightly against this surface while the metal was poured in and allowed to solidify. Study of objects which were probably cast in similar moulds suggests that the metal used was lead.
Stone moulds such as this have been described as 'portable trinket factories', and were perhaps used by travelling smiths.
British Museum, A guide to the Babylonian and, 3rd ed. (London, British Museum, 1922)
J.V. Canby, 'Early bronze 'trinket' moulds', Iraq-4, 27 (), pp. 42-61
K. Emre, Anatolian lead figurines and t (Ankara, 1971)
Greenstone seal of Adda
Akkadian, about 2300-2200 BCE From Mesopotamia Height: 3.900 cm Diameter: 2.550 cm Acquired by E.A.W. Budge ME 89115 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Four of the principal Mesopotamian deities
This is one of the many high quality greenstone seals that were made when much of Mesopotamia was united under the military control of the kings of the city of Agade (Akkad). The cuneiform inscription identifies the owner of the seal as Adda, who is described as dubsar, or 'scribe'.
The figures can be identified as gods by their pointed hats with multiple horns. The figure with streams of water and fish flowing from his shoulders is Ea (Sumerian Enki), god of subterranean waters and of wisdom. Behind him stands Usimu, his two-faced vizier (chief minister).
At the centre of the scene is the sun-god, Shamash (Sumerian Utu), with rays rising from his shoulders. He is cutting his way through the mountains in order to rise at dawn.
To his left is a winged goddess, Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna). The weapons rising from her shoulders symbolise her warlike characteristics; she also holds a cluster of dates.
The god armed with a bow and quiver has not been identified with certainty, but may represent a hunting god like Nusku.
J.E. Reade, Mesopotamia (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asi-1 (London, 1982)
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Granite weight in the form of a duck
Duck/fowl karaṇḍa ‘duck’, ‘water-pot’ (Sanskrit) karaṛa‘a very large aquatic bird’ (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi)
Kingdom of Lagash, about 2150-2000 BCE Probably from southern Iraq Length: 19.500 inches Width: 12.000 inches Weight: 60555.000 g ME 104724 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The weight is inscribed in cuneiform with the name of Ur-Ningirsu, ruler of the city-state of Lagash as the successor to Gudea. Ur-Ningirsu ruled in a period following the decline of the empire of Agade (Akkad) and the rise of a new political power centred on the city of Ur.
Although all the administrators of city states in southern Mesopotamia used the cuneiform writing system, they used various methods of weighing and measuring. With the formation of the empires of Agade and Ur the cities were united under one king. Attempts were made to reorganize the administration and introduce standardization. This must have helped communication and control.
The weight of this stone is given as 2 talents. A talent was approximately 30 kilos and could be divided into 60minas. Stone was preferred for weights of different standards in the Bronze Age (about 3000-1000 BC). There was a gradual shift to metals in the first millennium BC (for example, two bronze weights in the form of a lion, also in The British Museum).
British Museum, A guide to the Babylonian and, 3rd ed. (London, British Museum, 1922)
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Greenstone seal
Akkadian, about 2250 BCE From Mesopotamia Height: 4.100 cm Diameter: 2.770 cm (max.) ME 136842 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Belonging to the servant of a prince
This seal dates to a time when much of Mesopotamia was united under the control of the rulers of Agade (Akkad). The struggle between wild animals and heroes was a popular design on seals of this period. It is a standard Mesopotamian theme, representing the symbolic struggle between divine order and chaotic savagery.
The inscription records the name of the owner but it is not clear; it possibly reads Amushu or Idushu. He is described as the servant of Bin-kali-sharri, a prince. The seals of two of his other servants are also known. Bin-kali-sharri was one of the sons of Naram-Sin, king of Agade (Akkad) (reigned 2254-2218 BC).
Naram-Sin was the grandson of Sargon (reigned 2334-2279 BC), the founder of the Akkadian dynasty. The kings of the dynasty expanded their control beyond their city state of Agade through military conquest. A major building at Tell Brak in north-eastern Syria has been found with bricks stamped with the name of Naram-Sin, testifying to the extent of Akkadian control. Naram-Sin was succeeded by another son, Shar-kali-sharri (2217-2193 BC). After Shar-kali-sharri's reign a period of instability helped to bring the empire to an end.
D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asi-1 (London, 1982)
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Bronze figure
Kingdom of Lagash, about 2100-2000 BCE Possibly from Tello (ancient Girsu), southern Iraq Height: 14.280 cm Weight: 720.000 g ME 102613 Room 56: Mesopotamia
With an inscription of Gudea, ruler of Lagash
One of the duties of a Mesopotamian king was to care for the gods and restore or rebuild their temples. In the late third millennium BC, rulers in southern Mesopotamia often depicted themselves carrying out this pious task in the form of foundation pegs. Foundation pegs were buried in the foundation of buildings to magically protect them and preserve the builder's name for posterity. In this case, the peg is supported by a god (Mesopotamian gods are usually depicted wearing horned headdresses).
The peg has a very faint cuneiform inscription of Gudea, the ruler of the city-state of Lagash. Gudea ruled at a time when the cities of southern Mesopotamia, which had been united under the empire of Agade (Akkad), were reasserting their independence. There was competition among powerful, rival city-rulers for prominence. Of these, we know most about Gudea; he was a prolific builder and some of the longest Sumerian literary texts were written during his reign. Despite his wealth, however, Gudea's rule was limited to the area of his own city, which was soon absorbed into the new empire of Ur (called the Third Dynasty of Ur).
British Museum, A guide to the Babylonian and, 3rd ed. (London, British Museum, 1922)
E.D. Van Buren, Foundation offerings and figure (Berlin, H. Schoetz & Co., 1931)
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Copper foundation peg
Kingdom of Lagash, about 2130 BCE Probably from Zerghul, southern Iraq Height: 19.400 cm Length: 12.000 cm Weight: 2054.000 g ME 135993 Room 56: Mesopotamia
This copper figure of a bull in a reed marsh is a foundation peg. It was one of the duties of a Mesopotamian king to build or, more normally, refurbish the temples of the gods. This pious act would ensure that the deity would support his kingdom; ancient texts make it clear that if a god withdrew their patronage a city could be conquered by an enemy. As a record of this work, figurines were placed in the foundations of the temple building, intended both for the gods and posterity. Hidden in the foundations, they have escaped the attention of plunderers and are often found by archaeologists.
The inscription on the peg records the rebuilding of the temple of the goddess Nanshe in her city of Sirara (now Zerghul in southern Iraq) by Gudea, the ruler of the city-state of Lagash in south-east Sumer (dates debated, but somewhere about 2130 BC).
Nanshe belongs to the local pantheon of Lagash. She was regarded as a daughter of Enki, the god of wisdom and fresh water. She was especially associated with divination and the interpretation of dreams. Among her other responsibilities was checking the accuracy of weights and measures.
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
Circular brick with an inscription of Gudea
Kingdom of Lagash, about 2100-2000 BCE Probably from Tello (ancient Girsu), southern Iraq Diameter: 23.500 cm Depth: 6.500 cm ME 96945 Room 56: Mesopotamia
This circular brick has a cuneiform inscription of Gudea, the ruler of the city-state of Lagash (dates debated, but about 2100-2000 BC). He ruled at a time when the cities of southern Mesopotamia, previously united under the empire of Agade (Akkad), were reasserting their independence. Rulers of the rival city-states competed for prominence. Gudea is one of the best known, since he was a prolific builder and some of the longest and earliest Sumerian literary texts were written during his reign.
The contents of the text is typical of building inscriptions. It starts with the name of Ningirsu, the patron god of Lagash. It goes on to record that Gudea, who is described as the ensi or 'governor' of Lagash, had built the god a temple complete with a portico made of cedar. Very often these building inscriptions were made using a stamp which was impressed into the bricks. Kings were keen to demonstrate their piety through building temples, and they often celebrate the importation from distant lands of rare materials for the construction and furnishing. The cedar Gudea refers to in this inscription may have originated in Lebanon.
Despite his wealth, however, Gudea's rule was limited to the area of his own city which was soon absorbed into the new empire of Ur (called the Third Dynasty of Ur).
British Museum, A guide to the Babylonian and, 3rd ed. (London, British Museum, 1922)
'Scarlet Ware' jar
From Khafajeh, eastern Iraq Early Dynastic II period, about 2700-2500 BCE Height: 34.290 cm Diameter: 30.480 cm Length: 20.320 cm (slot in stem) Width: 1.900 cm (slot in stem) ME 123293 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Chariots and Banquets
The jar is decorated in red and black paint with chariot and banquet scenes and attendant musicians (one plays a bull-headed lyre, similar to the 'Queen's Lyre' from Ur) It is the earliest object so far known to combine these two recurring themes in Sumerian art.
It is a type of pottery known as 'Scarlet Ware', typical of sites along the River Diyala. The Diyala is a major tributary of the River Tigris and forms one of the most important trade routes linking southern Mesopotamia with the Iranian plateau.
The jar comes from Khafajeh, one of several sites in the region excavated by a team from the University of Chicago in the 1930s. It was purchased from a dealer in Baghdad, and was reputedly found by illicit diggers at Khafajeh before the Chicago excavations had begun. It is possible that the jar came from near a temple building which may have been dedicated to Sin, the moon god.
The discoveries the excavators made at Khafajeh allowed one of them, Henri Frankfort, to divide much of the third millennium BC into three periods - Early Dynastic I, II and III - based on the stylistic developments evident in cylinder seals, sculpture, architecture and ceramics. Scarlet Ware is typical of Early Dynastic I. This pot is a late example and, based on comparisons with designs on cylinder seals, it probably dates to Early Dynastic II.
P.P. Delougaz, Pottery from the Diyala region (University of Chicago, 1952)
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
Stone bowl
From Khafajeh, Iraq Early Dynastic period, about 2600-2400 BCEDiameter: 17.780 cm Height: 11.430 cm Purchased with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund ME 128887 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Links with ancient India?
This vessel was found in Mesopotamia on a major trade route though the mountains on to the Iranian plateau. It is made of a stone called chlorite or softstone. Tepe Yahya in Iran was a major production centre and one of the main sources of the stone.
Similarly carved chlorite vessels have been found on many Near Eastern sites of this period. In Mesopotamia they have been found in temples, in palaces and in graves. They have also been found at sites in the Gulf on the Island of Tarut and further south. The most frequent motifs are a type of building, but animals, particularly snakes, are also common.
The carving on this vessel is particularly fine. The design is probably linked to Iranian mythology. A man in a net skirt kneels on two humped-backed bulls, or zebus, standing back to back, and grasps streams watering vegetation and a palm tree; above are two undulating lines (rain clouds?), a crescent moon and a rosette sun. A similar figure with a rosette grasps two snakes and stands between two felines lying back to back. A lion and eagle attack a bull with a small animal below.
Some of these motifs are known from Iranian cylinder seals dating back to the beginning of the fourth millennium BC. The zebus are not native to Mesopotamia, and their presence here indicates a connection with the civilization which was developing at this time along the Indus Valley in Pakistan and north-west India.
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
M. Roaf, Cultural atlas of Mesopotamia (New York, 1990)
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Fired steatite cylinder seal
From Mesopotamia Early Dynastic period, about 3000-2800 BCE Height: 6.500 cm Diameter: 1.700 cm Herzfeld Collection ME 128840
Room 56: Mesopotamia
At the end of the fourth millennium BC the complex themes of cylinder seals (such as are seen on a seal from Uruk in The British Museum) were replaced by more schematic designs. The most common design consisted of oval patterns which sometimes look like eyes or fish. These are found from Susa, in south-west Iran, to Egypt and at a large number of Syrian sites. It is likely that the spread of these patterns reflects the emergence of a long-distance trade-route.
By the early third millennium BC, when this seal was made, the trend towards stylization went even further, with tall, thin, patterned seals like this example. They were often made of talc (steatite) hardened by firing to form enstatite. They have been given various names: Piedmont (because of their geographical distribution along the foothills of the Zagros and southern Turkey), Ninevite 5 (because they were found in Level 5 of a deep sounding at Nineveh), and Early Dynastic I. The most reliably dated seals have been found in the Diyala region, an important tributary of the River Tigris which links lowland Mesopotamia with the plateau of Iran to the east. The closest parallels for the cross-shaped design on the seal come from Nineveh
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
D.J. Wiseman, Catalogue of the Western Asiat (London, 1962)
Cylinder seal
Proto-Elamite, about 3000-2700 BCE Height: 4.900 cm Diameter: 2.900 cm ME 116720 Room 52: Ancient Iran
This seal, of pale green volcanic tuff, is derived from earlier Uruk-style seals depicting animals, but belongs to a stylistic tradition found not in Mesopotamia but in south-western Iran. The heavy emphasis on the shoulders and haunches of the animals divides the bodies into three segments which are often patterned. Some seals of this type were impressed on tablets bearing the Proto-Elamite script which died out later in the third millennium. On many of these Proto-Elamite seals animals adopt human postures and these may have led to the appearance in Mesopotamia of such creatures as the bull-man and human-headed bulls.
At the end of the fourth millennium BC, the widespread Uruk culture of Mesopotamia disappeared. The site of Susa slipped out of the Mesopotamian cultural sphere. Instead it shared a ceramic tradition and a writing system with the site of Anshan (modern Tal-i Malyan), which lay about 500 kilometres (as the crow flies, and about 800 by road) to the south-east and later became the Elamite capital. Proto-Elamite remains have been found across a wide area of the Iranian plateau. However, between 2700-2500 BC the Proto-Elamite sites disappear, while the Mesopotamian cities begin to reassert their presence in the east through military action.
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
P.O. Harper, J. Aruz, and F. Tallon, The royal city of Susa(New York, Metropolitan Museum, 1992)
D.J. Wiseman, Catalogue of the Western Asiat (London, 1962)
White and cream calcite (marble) cylinder seal
From Uruk, southern Iraq About 3200-3100 BCE Height: 7.200 cm Diameter: 4.200 cm ME 116722Room 56: Mesopotamia
One of the tools of a Mesopotamian bureaucrat
At the time this seal was made, Uruk was one of the largest settlements in the world, estimated at around 250 hectares (about 620 acres). Such a large centre, with several thousand inhabitants, required sophisticated means of administration; this seal may have belonged to one of the most important officials. They were rolled across damp clay to seal vessels or doors with a mark of authority.
The figure depicted here is often referred to as a priest-king because he undertakes activities which could be described as religious and royal (although there was no clear division of these functions in the ancient world). The beard, net-like skirt and wide band around his head distinguish him from other representationsof humans. The poles with loops were probably actually made from reeds bound together and are the symbol of Inana, a goddess of fertility and the patron of Uruk.
Large seals of this period are generally unpierced and often have an animal carved as part of the seal or cast in metal and fixed on top. These contrast with contemporary smaller schematic seals which appear to show workers, perhaps connected with the production of textiles and pottery and rows of animals.
P. Amiet, La glyptique Mesopotamienne ar (Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1980)
D.J. Wiseman, Catalogue of the Western Asiat (London, 1962)
Stone cult vessel
From Mesopotamia, about 3400-3200 BCE Height: 14.200 cm ME 118361 Room 56: Mesopotamia
This stone vessel dates to the late fourth millennium BC, when large cities were developing in southern Mesopotamia. The largest known settlement was Uruk (modern Warka). In the centre of Uruk were monumental temple buildings where archaeologists have found beautiful objects with designs very similar to those depicted on this vase. Exotic sculptures may have had a ritual use within the temples or, considering the small scale of this example, left as votive objects as an act of piety.
Lines of animals are commonly found in sculpture and also on cylinder seals which developed at the same period as part of administration. Wild animals, and particularly lions, are often depicted attacking domesticated animals. This is a standard theme in Mesopotamian art, a symbolic representation of the struggle between chaotic savagery and divine order.
Like sheep, which appear on similar objects (for example a stone vase, also in The British Museum), cattle were clearly an important part of the economy. It was during the fourth millennium BC that the first evidence for milk products appears. The earliest actual representation of the milking of cows dates to the third millennium BCE.
Stone vase
From Mesopotamia Late Uruk period, about 3400-3200 BCE Height: 1.200 cm (approx.) ME 116705 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The animals of the first city-dwellers of Mesopotamia
This stone vessel was made in the late fourth millennium BC, when cities were developing in southern Mesopotamia. The largest known settlement was Uruk (modern Warka). In the centre of the city were monumental temple buildings where archaeologists have found beautiful objects with designs very similar to those depicted on this vase. Such exotic sculptures may have had a ritual use within the temples. The art work of this period very often emphasize domesticated animals. Similar scenes are depicted on cylinder seals which developed as part of administration of these major centres.
During this period a large number of settlements established in northern and western Mesopotamia shared the same culture as the south. Southerners may have been trading with local people for stones and metals not available on the southern alluvial plains.
It is likely that they also farmed the herds of Syrian sheep and cattle. The production of woollen textiles from vast numbers of sheep was probably a major part of southern Mesopotamia's economy. Many of the images on cylinders of this period appear to show pig-tailed figures engaged in weaving. Much later texts describe how weaving was the occupation of women, often working together in large numbers. https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/stone_vase.aspx White calcite (marble) cylinder seal
From Mesopotamia Late Uruk / Early Jemdet Nasr period, about 3200-3000 BCE Height: 4.400 cm Diameter:
3 .900 cm ME 102416 Room 56: Mesopotamia
An extensive trade route between eastern Mesopotamia and Syria and Egypt
This seal shows animals and pots in front of a shrine or temple. It is perhaps a ritual scene. Monumental buildings dating to the late fourth millennium and decorated with niches and buttresses have been excavated in southern Mesopotamia, especially at Uruk, and are found at a number of sites further north along the River Euphrates. The poles with rings were probably the symbol of a god or goddess but which one is unknown.
The seal is typical of a style using filed lines and drill-holes, found in the Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, but also in Syria. Seals like this are evidence of a trade network between the two regions.
The earliest cylinder seals were rolled over hollow clay balls containing tokens; later they were impressed on clay tags and tablets marked with tally signs. A variety of early scenes carved on the seals show economic activities, food production, processions or ritual acts. These may reflect different 'departments' within the central authority.
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
D.J. Wiseman, Catalogue of the Western Asiat (London, 1962)
Terracotta plaque showing a bull-man holding a post
Old Babylonian, about 2000-1600 BCE From Mesopotamia Length: 12.800 cm Width: 7.000 cm ME 103225 Room 56: Mesopotamia
This plaque depicts a creature with the head and torso of a human but the horns, lower body and legs of a bull. Though similar figures are depicted earlier in Iran, they are first seen in Mesopotamian art around 2500 BC, most commonly on cylinder seals, and are associated with the sun-god Shamash. The bull-man was usually shown in profile, with a single visible horn projecting forward. However, here he is depicted in a less common form; his whole body above the waist, shown in frontal view, shows that he was intended to be double-horned. He may be supporting a divine emblem and thus acting as a protective deity.
Baked clay plaques like this were mass-produced using moulds in southern Mesopotamia from the second millennium BC. While many show informal scenes and reflect the private face of life, this example clearly has magical or religious significance.
British Museum, A guide to the Babylonian and, 3rd ed. (London, British Museum, 1922)
J. Black and A. Green, Gods, demons and symbols of -1(London, The British Museum Press, 1992)
Terracotta plaque with an erotic scene
Old Babylonian, around 1800 BCE From Mesopotamia Height: 8.900 cm Width: 7.200 cm Gift of Major Burn (1925) ME 116731 Middle East
This baked clay plaque appears to show a man and woman having sex, while the woman bends over to drink beer through a straw. Ancient documents of this period include examples of erotic poetry where strong connections are made between alcohol and sexual activity.
Baked clay plaques were mass-produced in southern Mesopotamia from the second millennium BC. They show informal scenes and reflect the private face of life. Though their exact purpose is not clear, they may have had magical or religious significance.
H.W.F. Saggs, The greatness that was Babylon (London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1962)
J.E. Reade, Mesopotamia (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)
C. Johns, Erotica (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)
Gold bowl
From Ur, southern Iraq About 2600-2400 BCE Height: 7.000 cm Length: 19.700 cm Width: 11.000 cm ME 121344 Room 56: Mesopotamia
From the 'Queen's Grave'
This gold bowl comes from the Queen's Grave in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. It was found in the main tomb, a rough stone chamber at one end of the pit. The chamber contained the body of a woman and her two female servants, surrounded by extraordinary rich material. A cuneiform inscription on a cylinder seal found close to her body identified the woman as Pu-Abi (formerly read as Shub-ad).
The bowl was found very close to Pu-abi. It is made from beaten gold with small tubes of gold attached to the sides by brazing (or hard-soldering). Through these lugs, two strands of gold wire, twisted to give a cable effect, have been threaded to form a handle. The excavator Leonard Woolley found a silver tube inside the bowl, which may have been a drinking straw. Depictions on contemporary cylinder seals, such as Pu-abi's own seal, show figures drinking through straws. Wine and beer were widely drunk in ancient Mesopotamia.
C.L. Woolley and P.R.S. Moorey, Ur of the Chaldees, revised edition (Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, 1982)
P.R.S. Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian materials (Oxford, 1994)
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934).Ur
Known today as Tell el-Muqayyar, the 'Mound of Pitch', the site was occupied from around 5000 BC to 300 BC. Although Ur is famous as the home of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham (Genesis 11:29-32), there is no actual proof that Tell el-Muqayyar was identical with 'Ur of the Chaldees'. In antiquity the city was known as Urim.
The main excavations at Ur were undertaken from 1922-34 by a joint expedition of The British Museum and the University Museum, Pennsylvania, led by Leonard Woolley. At the centre of the settlement were mud brick temples dating back to the fourth millennium BC. At the edge of the sacred area a cemetery grew up which included burials known today as the Royal Graves. An area of ordinary people's houses was excavated in which a number of street corners have small shrines. But the largest surviving religious buildings, dedicated to the moon god Nanna, also include one of the best preserved ziggurats, and were founded in the period 2100-1800 BC. For some of this time Ur was the capital of an empire stretching across southern Mesopotamia. Rulers of the later Kassite and Neo-Babylonian empires continued to build and rebuild at Ur. Changes in both the flow of the River Euphrates (now some ten miles to the east) and trade routes led to the eventual abandonment of the site.
The Royal Graves of Ur
Close to temple buildings at the centre of the city of Ur, a rubbish dump built up over centuries. Unable to use the area for building, the people of Ur started to bury their dead there. The cemetery was used between about 2600-2000 BC and hundreds of burials were made in pits. Many of these contained very rich materials.
In one area of the cemetery a group of sixteen graves was dated to the mid-third millennium. These large, shaft graves were distinct from the surrounding burials and consisted of a tomb, made of stone, rubble and bricks, built at the bottom of a pit. The layout of the tombs varied, some occupied the entire floor of the pit and had multiple chambers. The most complete tomb discovered belonged to a lady identified as Pu-abi from the name carved on a cylinder seal found with the burial.
The majority of graves had been robbed in antiquity but where evidence survived the main burial was surrounded by many human bodies. One grave had up to seventy-four such sacrificial victims. It is evident that elaborate ceremonies took place as the pits were filled in that included more human burials and offerings of food and objects. The excavator, Leonard Woolley thought the graves belonged to kings and queens. Another suggestion is that they belonged to the high priestesses of Ur.
References
C.L. Woolley and P.R.S. Moorey, Ur of the Chaldees, revised edition (Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, 1982)
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
M. Roaf, Cultural atlas of Mesopotamia (New York, 1990)
Further reading
J. Aruz, Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus (New York, 2003)
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern Art (London, 1995)
H. Crawford, Sumer and Sumerians (Cambridge, 2004)
N. Postgate, Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History. (London, 1994)
N. Yoffee, Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilization (Cambridge, 2005)
R. Zettler, and L. Horne, (eds.) Treasures from the Royal Tomb at Ur (Philadelphia, 1998)
Copper frieze
From the temple of Ninhursag, Tell al-'Ubaid, southern Iraq About 2600-2400 BCE Length: 2.590 m Height: 1.070 m Excavated by H.R.H. Hall ME 114308 (1919.10-11.4874) Room 56: Mesopotamia
A rare metalwork survival
This relief was one of a group of objects found at the small site of Tell al-'Ubaid, close to the remains of the city of Ur. It was discovered at the base of a mud-brick platform on which had been built a temple dedicated to the goddess Ninhursag.
The frieze may have originally stood above the door of the temple, and if so, is the most striking element of what survives of the temple façade. The frieze was badly damaged when it was found. Only one stag's head was recovered intact and the head of the eagle had to be restored. This restoration, based on images of similar date, shows the lion-headed eagle Imdugud, the symbol of the god Ningirsu. The artist has allowed the lion head to break out of the confines of the framework, suggesting Imdugud's great power.
The relief is formed from sheets of copper alloy beaten into shape and fastened, with pins and twisted lengths of copper, to a wooden core coated with bitumen. The survival of such a large piece of metalwork from this period is exceptional. Though copper, probably from the regions of modern Oman and Iran, was the most widely-used metal at this time, most metal objects have either disintegrated or the metal was melted down and re-used.
H.W.F. Saggs, Babylonians (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
M. Roaf, Cultural atlas of Mesopotamia (New York, 1990)
H.R. Hall and C.L. Woolley, Ur Excavations, vol. I: Al-Uba(London, Oxford University Press, 1927)
Copper frieze
From the Temple of Ninhursag, Tell al-'Ubaid, southern Iraq, around 2600 BCE Length: 69.850 cm Height: 22.220 cm Excavated by H.R.H. Hall ME 116741 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Decoration for the temple façade
This frieze was discovered at the small site of Tell al-'Ubaid, close to the remains of the city of Ur. It was found among a group of objects at the foot of a mud brick platform. The platform had originally supported a temple building dedicated to the goddess Ninhursag. The objects were found beside the platform-stairs, among debris which may have fallen from the temple on top.
Ninhursag was a mother goddess and her name means 'lady of the steppe land' where cows were put out to pasture. It is appropriate that her temple should have been decorated with bulls and cows.
The panel was found in good condition, with the borders preserved. It is formed from a wooden board, which had decayed, covered with strips of copper secured with copper nails. The area between the borders was covered with bitumen and the figures were pressed into it. The bulls are made in one piece of Tridacna shell with the legs and head carved separately. The background was filled with black shale cut to shape. All the pieces of inlay were in place when it was found, except the body of the last bull which had been forced away from its backing and lay in three pieces.
Several more or less complete sections of panel were found, along with numerous scattered figures and fragments from a second frieze which had ornamented the façade of the temple.
H.R. Hall and C.L. Woolley, Ur Excavations, vol. I: Al-Uba(London, Oxford University Press, 1927)
T.C. Mitchell, Sumerian art: illustrated by o (London, The British Museum Press, 1969)
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Copper figure of a bull
From the Temple of Ninhursag, Tell al-'Ubaid, southern Iraq, around 2600 BCE Length: 60.960 cm Height: 60.960 cm Excavated by Leonard Woolley ME 116740 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Decoration for the temple façade
This bull was discovered in 1923 by Leonard Woolley at the small site of Tell al-'Ubaid, close to the remains of the city of Ur. The bull was found among a group of objects at the foot of a mud brick platform. The platform had originally supported a temple building dedicated to the goddess Ninhursag. The objects were found beside the platform-stairs. The bull had been squashed flat by the weight of the brickwork which had fallen from the temple above.
Ninhursag was a mother goddess and her name means 'lady of the steppe land' where cows were put out to pasture. It is appropriate that her temple should have been decorated with bulls and cows.
The body of the bull originally had a wooden core, now decayed, which was covered in a thin layer of bitumen. Over this was hammered thin sheet copper (probably from Iran or Oman) secured with copper nails.
Four bulls were found at the site but only two were in a good state of preservation (the second is now in the University of Phildelphia Museum). Because the copper was in such a fragile state, Leonard Woolley poured wax over the remains and covered it in bandages so that the metal was kept in place when lifted from the ground. Modern restorations include one horn, a section in the middle of the tail and part of the modelling of the hooves.
H.R. Hall and C.L. Woolley, Ur Excavations, vol. I: Al-Uba(London, Oxford University Press, 1927)
T.C. Mitchell, Sumerian art: illustrated by o (London, The British Museum Press, 1969)
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Peace panel, War panel![]()
The Standard of Ur
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BCE
This object was found in one of the largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber above the right shoulder of a man. Its original function is not yet understood.
Leonard Woolley, the excavator at Ur, imagined that it was carried on a pole as a standard, hence its common name. Another theory suggests that it formed the soundbox of a musical instrument.
When found, the original wooden frame for the mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli had decayed, and the two main panels had been crushed together by the weight of the soil. The bitumen acting as glue had disintegrated and the end panels were broken. As a result, the present restoration is only a best guess as to how it originally appeared.
The main panels are known as 'War' and 'Peace'. 'War' shows one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army. Chariots, each pulled by four donkeys, trample enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears; enemy soldiers are killed with axes, others are paraded naked and presented to the king who holds a spear.
The 'Peace' panel depicts animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to a banquet. Seated figures, wearing woollen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre. Banquet scenes such as this are common on cylinder seals of the period, such as on the seal of the 'Queen' Pu-abi, also in the British Museum.
The city of Ur
Known today as Tell el-Muqayyar, the city of Ur was occupied from around 5,000 BC to 300 BC and was once the capital of an empire stretching across southern Mesopotamia. More about the city of Ur ![]()
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Decoration detail
Queen's Lyre
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BCE Height: 112.000 cm Excavated by C.L. Woolley ME 121198a Room 56: Mesopotamia
Music for the afterlife
Leonard Woolley discovered several lyres in the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. This was one of two that he found in the grave of 'Queen' Pu-abi. Along with the lyre, which stood against the pit wall, were the bodies of ten women with fine jewellery, presumed to be sacrificial victims, and numerous stone and metal vessels. One woman lay right against the lyre and, according to Woolley, the bones of her hands were placed where the strings would have been.
The wooden parts of the lyre had decayed in the soil, but Woolley poured plaster of Paris into the depression left by the vanished wood and so preserved the decoration in place. The front panels are made of lapis lazuli, shell and red limestone originally set in bitumen. The gold mask of the bull decorating the front of the sounding box had been crushed and had to be restored. While the horns are modern, the beard, hair and eyes are original and made of lapis lazuli.
This musical instrument was originally reconstructed as part of a unique 'harp-lyre', together with a harp from the burial, now also in The British Museum. Later research showed that this was a mistake. A new reconstruction, based on excavation photographs, was made in 1971-72.
A similar bull-lyre is depicted on the Standard of Ur.
J. Rimmer, Ancient musical instruments of (London, The British Museum Press, 1969)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
Silver lyre
From Ur, southern Iraq about 2600-2400 BCE Height: 106.000 cm Length: 97.000 cm ME 121199 Room 56: Mesopotamia
This lyre was found in the 'Great Death-Pit', one of the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The burial in the Great Death-Pit was accompanied by seventy-four bodies - six men and sixty-eight women -laid down in rows on the floor of the pit. Three lyres were piled one on top of another. They were all made from wood which had decayed by the time they were excavated, but two of them, of which this is one, were entirely covered in sheet silver attached by small silver nails. The plaques down the front of the sounding box are made of shell. The silver cow's head decorating the front has inlaid eyes of shell and lapis lazuli. The edges of the sound box have a narrow border of shell and lapis lazuli inlay.
When found, the lyre lay in the soil. The metal was very brittle and the uprights were squashed flat. First it was photographed, and then covered in wax and waxed cloth to hold it together for lifting. The silver on the top and back edge of the sounding box had been destroyed. Some of the silver preserved the impression of matting on which it must have originally lain. Eleven silver tubes acted as the tuning pegs.
Such instruments were probably important parts of rituals at court and temple. There are representations of lyre players and their instruments on cylinder seals, and on the Standard of Ur being played alongside a possible singer.
J. Rimmer, Ancient musical instruments of (London, The British Museum Press, 1969)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
Shell plaque
From Ur, southern Iraq About 2600-2400 BCE Length: 4.400 cm Width: 4.400 cm ME 121529 Room 56: Mesopotamia
From the 'Queen's Grave'
This shell plaque comes from the grave of 'Queen' Pu-abi in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. It was found with a silver bull's head which was inlaid with shell and lapis lazuli. It was presumably part of the decoration of a lyre or harp. Shell, often combined with different coloured stones, was one of the most popular ways of decorating objects in Sumer. Wooden items such as fine musical instruments, and pieces of furniture, as well as pillars and wall panels were decorated in this way. Bitumen was used as a glue.
Animal scenes are silhouetted on the shell, with the background and details of engraving filled in with bitumen. The scenes are typical of this period, although rearing goats are a motif known from all periods of Mesopotamian art.
The shell probably came from the Gulf.
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
T.C. Mitchell, Sumerian art: illustrated by o (London, The British Museum Press, 1969)
Headdress and necklace of gold, lapis lazuli and cornelian
From Grave 800, the Royal Cemetery of Ur, southern Iraq Early Dynastic III, about 2600 BCE Excavated by C.L. Woolley ME 121481;ME 122351 Middle East
Dug outside the walls of the city, the so-called 'Royal Cemetery' at Ur was built over by the walls of Nebuchadnezzar's larger city about 2,000 years later. Some 1,840 burials were found, dating to between 2600 BC and 2000 BC. They ranged from simple inhumations, with the body rolled in a mat, to elaborate burials in domed tombs reached by descending ramps. Seventeen of these early burials Leonard Woolley, the exacavator, called 'Royal Graves' because of the rich grave-goods and the bodies of retainers, apparently sacrificed.
This jewellery comes from one of the richest tombs at Ur. It was the burial place of Pu-abi, her name recorded on a fine cylinder seal of lapis lazuli. She lay on a wooden bier, a gold cup near her hand, the upper part of her body entirely hidden by multi-coloured beads. She wore an elaborate headdress. Buried with her were the bodies of 25 attendants, laid out in rows, and oxen which had been harnessed to vehicles. An adjacent tomb with no principal occupant had 65 attendants. Even more bodies were found in the tomb known as the Great Death Pit, which was occupied by six servants, four women harpists and 64 other women, dressed in scarlet and adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli and cornelian. The attendants may have voluntarily taken poison and were buried while unconscious or dead.
Other Views: Reconstruction of the burial shaft, showing the queen's retinue and the ox drivers (A. Forestier, 1928)
C. Trümpler (ed.), Agatha Christie and archaeolog(London, The British Museum Press, 2001)
Gold pin with a carnelian head
From Ur, southern Iraq About 2600-2400 BCE Length: 26.900 cm ME 122204 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The excavator Leonard Woolley discovered this pin in one of the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. In this particular tomb the bodies of four men and a woman were found in a stone chamber at the bottom of a pit. The woman held a gold tumbler in her hand, and this gold pin was on her breast, though it had probably slipped from her shoulder where it had been attached to her dress. A cylinder seal made of gold was almost touching the head of the pin. They may originally have been attached.
The burial chamber of the tomb was a dome made of limestone rubble set in and thickly plastered with stiff green clay. Holes sloped inwards through the stonework. Woolley cleared them out and, by holding an electric torch to one, and looking through another, was able to see through to the floor of the burial chamber. Sticking up through a light dust were the rims of pottery and copper vessels and an occasional glimpse of gold.
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
Cylinder seal of Pu-abi
From Ur, southern Iraq Around 2600 BCE Height: 4.900 cm Diameter: 2.600 cm Excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley ME 121544 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The seal of the 'Queen'
This cylinder seal was discovered in the 'Queen's Grave' in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. It is engraved with a banquet scene. It has been suggested that this indicates that the owner was female, while a man's seal would have been engraved with a combat scene. Indeed, the cuneiform inscription on this seal reads 'Pu-abi nin'. The Sumerian word 'nin' can be translated as either 'lady' or 'queen'. It is possible that Pu-abi (previously read as Shub-ad) may have been a high priestess in the service of the moon god, Nanna, patron of Ur.
The seal was found against the right arm of Pu-abi's body, together with two other seals and three gold pins, which were presumably used to secure her cloak. The cylinders were perhaps tied to the pins: the typical way of carrying seals.
The seal is made from lapis lazuli, which would have come from Afghanistan. This not only shows the extensive trade routes that existed at this time, but also how important Pu-abi was, owning an object made of such an exotic material.
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
M. Roaf, Cultural atlas of Mesopotamia (New York, 1990)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
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Gold and lapis lazuli beads
From Ur, southern Iraq About 2600-2400 BCE Length: 21.000 inches (laid flat) ME 122302
Room 56: Mesopotamia
Discovered in the 'Great Death-Pit'
This collection of jewellery was discovered overlying a skull in the 'Great Death-Pit' in the cemetery at Ur. The skull, crushed flat by the weight of soil which was used to fill up the grave, was that of one of the serving ladies who appear to have been sacrificial victims accompanying the central burial. There was a total of seventy-four bodies - six men and sixty-eight women - laid in rows on the floor of the pit. Leonard Woolley, the excavator, suggested that bowls found beside many of the bodies may have contained poison, which they took as part of the burial ritual. An alternative is that they were killed.
The jewellery includes a gold hair ribbon, a wreath of gold pendants, a silver comb with inlaid flowers, gold ear-rings and necklaces of gold and lapis lazuli beads. Blue lapis lazuli was one of the most prestigious and valuable of stones. 'Lapis-like' was a standard way of describing unusual wealth in ancient documents and it was often associated with gods and heroes.
P.R.S. Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian materials (Oxford, 1994)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
Reconstruction of the burial shaft, showing the queen's retinue and the ox drivers (1928)The Royal Graves of Ur
Close to temple buildings at the centre of the city of Ur, a rubbish dump built up over centuries. Unable to use the area for building, the people of Ur started to bury their dead there. The cemetery was used between about 2600-2000 BC and hundreds of burials were made in pits. Many of these contained very rich materials.
In one area of the cemetery a group of sixteen graves was dated to the mid-third millennium. These large, shaft graves were distinct from the surrounding burials and consisted of a tomb, made of stone, rubble and bricks, built at the bottom of a pit. The layout of the tombs varied, some occupied the entire floor of the pit and had multiple chambers. The most complete tomb discovered belonged to a lady identified as Pu-abi from the name carved on a cylinder seal found with the burial.
The majority of graves had been robbed in antiquity but where evidence survived the main burial was surrounded by many human bodies. One grave had up to seventy-four such sacrificial victims. It is evident that elaborate ceremonies took place as the pits were filled in that included more human burials and offerings of food and objects. The excavator, Leonard Woolley thought the graves belonged to kings and queens. Another suggestion is that they belonged to the high priestesses of Ur.
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Lapis lazuli cylinder seal of Sin-ishmeanni
Old Babylonian, about 19th century BCE From Mesopotamia Height: 2.450 cm Diameter: 1.450 cm Captain E.G. Spencer Churchill Collection ME 134757 Room 56: Mesopotamia
The design on this lapis lazuli seal is typical of the Old Babylonian period; the owner of the seal is shown being brought into the presence of a king by a goddess known as a lamma. The seated king wears the head-dress of a god. From the end of the third millennium BC until the time of this seal many of the rulers of south Mesopotamia were deified. At all other times it seems that Mesopotamian kings were considered to be appointed by the gods but were not themselves divine.
The inscription identifies the seal owner as Sin-ishmeanni, son of Sin-iddinam, and servant of Sumu-yamutbala. The latter was a ruler in northern Babylonia around 1850 BC.
The small person with bow legs is a common motif on seals of this period. He has variously been interpreted as a dancer in rituals or entertainments, or as a type of demon, perhaps a prankster or a protective spirit. The figure may be related to the Egyptian god Bes, who was worshipped in Syria and other areas of the ancient Near East.
D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asi-2 (London, 1986)Lapis lazuli cylinder seal
From Ur, southern Iraq about 2600 BCE Height: 4.300 cm Diameter: 2.200 cm Excavated by Sir Leonard Wolley ME 121545 Room 56: Mesopotamia
Discovered in the 'Queen's Grave'
This cylinder seal comes from the grave of 'Queen' Pu-abi, one of the richest in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The seal is engraved with a banquet scene. These banquets may have been like later Greek symposia with important ritual and social meanings. The upper register depicts figures drinking, possibly beer, from a large jar through long straws. In the lower register more figures drink but this time from cups, perhaps wine poured from the spouted vessel held by one standing servant. There is food on a stand.
The seal was found against the right arm of the body of a woman who was lying on a bier in a tomb built of brick on stone foundations. A cuneiform inscription on a similar seal, found with this one, identifies her as 'The lady Pu-abi', the so-called 'Queen' of Ur. However, Pu-abi (the name used to be read Shub-ad) could have been a priestess. There were also pins, possibly for securing her cloak and the seals may have been tied to them. Many other rich objects were found in the burial pit leading to the tomb.
D.J. Wiseman, Catalogue of the Western Asiat (London, 1962)
C.L. Woolley and others, Ur Excavations, vol. II: The R(London, The British Museum Press, 1934)
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Garnet cylinder seal showing Ishtar
Neo-Assyrian, 720-700 BCE From Mesopotamia Height: 4.300 cm Diameter: 1.800 cm Acquired by 1835 ME 89769 Room 55: Mesopotamia
The supreme Mesopotamian goddess
This very finely cut seal depicts Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of sexuality and warfare. She appears frequently on seals, relief carving, and in descriptions as a mighty warrior who protects the king by defeating his enemies. One Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal (reigned 669-631 BC), was even described as crying before the goddess like a child asking his mother for help. Her strength as a warrior is stressed here, as she is shown with weapons rising from her shoulders.
Ishtar appears to have been associated at an early period with the Sumerian goddess Inanna and both deities are depicted with symbols of fertility, such as the date palm, and of aggression, such as the lion. The iconography survived relatively unchanged for over a thousand years. Here, Ishtar's astral quality is also emphasized: above her crown is a representation of the planet Venus. The goddess could be worshipped as both male and female Ishtar, reflecting her dual role of sex and war as well as the evening and morning aspects of the planet.
In the first millennium BC more unusual stones were used to make seals: this one is made of green garnet, which may have come from northern Pakistan.
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
H. Frankfort, Cylinder seals (London, Macmillan, 1939)
The 'Queen of the Night' Relief
Old Babylonian, 1800-1750 BCE From southern Iraq Height: 49.500 cm Width: 37.000 cm Thickness: 4.800 cm (max.) ME 2003-7-18,1 Room 56: Mesopotamia
A major acquisition for the British Museum's 250th anniversary
This large plaque is made of baked straw-tempered clay, modelled in high relief. The figure of the curvaceous naked woman was originally painted red. She wears the horned headdress characteristic of a Mesopotamian deity and holds a rod and ring of justice, symbols of her divinity. Her long multi-coloured wings hang downwards, indicating that she is a goddess of the Underworld. Her legs end in the talons of a bird of prey, similar to those of the two owls that flank her. The background was originally painted black, suggesting that she was associated with the night. She stands on the backs of two lions, and a scale pattern indicates mountains.
The figure could be an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love and war, or Ishtar's sister and rival, the goddess Ereshkigal who ruled over the Underworld, or the demoness Lilitu, known in the Bible as Lilith. The plaque probably stood in a shrine.
The same goddess appears on small, crude, mould-made plaques from Babylonia from about 1850 to 1750 BC. Thermoluminescence tests confirm that the 'Queen of the Night' relief was made between 1765 and 45 BC.
The relief may have come to England as early as 1924, and was brought to the British Museum in 1933 for scientific testing. It has been known since its publication in 1936 in the Illustrated London News as the Burney Relief, after its owner at that time. Until 2003 it has been in private hands. The Director and Trustees of the British Museum decided to make this spectacular terracotta plaque the principal acquisition for the British Museum's 250th anniversary.
Other Views
A) Image of the plaque 'restored' to how it would have looked before painting
B) Reconstruction of original painting added
C) The plaque now compared to the reconstruction
These images were created using Photoshop by Mark Timson of the British Museum's New Media Unit, with the guidance of Dominique Collon, curator in the Department of the Ancient Near East.
H. W. and A. F. Janson, History of Art, 6th edition (New York, 2001)
H. Frankfort, 'The Burney Relief', Archiv für Orientforschung (1937-39), pp. 128-35
H. Frankfort, The art and architecture of th (London, Pelican, 1970)
https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lapis_lazuli_stamp_seal.aspx
Anshan as Fars and Aratta as Shahr-i-Sokhta
"During the last thirty years, one of the outstanding problems in the field of the ancient history of Iran has been the search for the exact location of Anshan and Aratta, two important neighboring city sttes somewhere on the Iranian plateau. Both states are mentioned for the first time in the Sumerian texts usually thought to reflect the Early Dynastic II Period (the first half of the third millennium BCE). Anshan remained well known in later periods also as one of the main centers of the Elamite kingdom, while Aratta was a wealthy area to which the Early Dynastic rulers looked as a source for costly commodiies. The uncertainty as to the precise location of these two regions resulted in a series of controversies among scholars who have proposed to identify them with different areas within the present geographical borders of Iran. The state of Anshan, however, finally found its identity and exact location through the archaeological activities of Tall-i-Malyan led by William Sumner. It is noteworthy that before the evidence of the discoveries of Tall-i-Malyan was available, John Hansman was the only scholar who identified that site as Anshan...The discovery of exact location of Anshan as the modern province of Fars, however, proved that the identification of Aratta as Luristan by Kramer, as south or southeast of the Caspian by Herrmann, and as Hamaan-Nahavand-Kermanshah-Sanandaj by Cohen are all completely out of the question since it is known that the state of Aratta was adjacent to the state of Anshan. In contrast to other scholars, Hansman looked to the east. He included the province of Kerman in the ancient state of Anshan, and having brought the modern state of Sistan into the neighborhood of Anshan, proposed the possibility that Shahr-i-Sokhta could be identified with the city of Aratta." (Yousef Majidzadeh, The Land of Aratta, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1976), pp. 105-106); (W. Sumner, 'Excavations at Tall-i-Malyan 1971-72,' Iran 12 (1974): 155-175; Erica Reiner, 'Tall-i-Malyan, Epigraphic Finds 1971-72,' Iran 12 (1974): 176; idem, 'The location of Anshan', Revue d'Assyriologie 67 (1974): 57-62. J. Hansman, 'Elamites, Achaemenians and Anshan,' Iran 10 (1972): 101-25.)
Yousef Majidzadeh continues the revisit to resolve the problem of locating Aratta based on 15 years (prior to 1976) of archaeological work in the province of Kerman and concludes that this province is the 'only region which can reasonably be regarded as the exact ocation of the state of Aratta. This is, furthermore, supported by the fact that Aratta was located on the roue for the transhipment of lapis lazuli from its sources. Thus, the lapis lazuli of Badakhshan could have been brought to Shahr-i-Sokhta, and there, after receiving some primary treatment, could be sent through Aratta to Uruk without any direct contact between Shahr-i-Sokhta and Mesoptamia. At the present time, the archaeological evidence is not sufficient to identify with certainty the residential city of the Lord of Aratta. The very rich deposit of the Shahdad cemetery may, however, lead us in the direction of the capital city of Aratta. The only problem lies in the fact that no other cemetery has, so far, been excavated in the entire Kerman region. Therefore, one cannot rule out the possibility that at the time of the Shahdad cemetery the inhabitants of Kerma were enjoying prosperity, and that all the cemeteries were being loaded with similar rich offerings. However, if in the light of future excavations the cemetery of Shahdad remains unique in its richness, then one must look for a settlement somewhere between Shahdad and the present capital city of Kerman, a site whose residents buried their dead in this cemetery. Notes: Compare the wealth of the Shahdad cemetery with that of the Shahr-i-Sokhta graveyard. Although the richest graves are in the latter and belong to phases 5-7 (Period II), which are approximately contemporary with the Shahdad cemetery, they appear much poorer. This in turn indicates once more that the richness and the prosperity of the people of Aratta described in the Sumerian Texts does not fit the situation at Shahr-i-Sokhta. For a detailed description of the Shahr-i-Sokhta graveyard see M. Piperno and M. Tosi, 'The graveyard of Shahr-i-Sokhta Iran', Archaeology 28 (1975): 186-197. The location of the capital city of Aratta in the vicinity of the Shahdad cemetery becomes more likely when one considers the geographical description of the region and its historical background given in n. 35 above.' (ibid., pp. 112-113); (G. Hermann, 'Lapis Lazuli', p. 36; CC Lamberg-Karlovsky and M. Tosi, 'Shahr-i-Sokhta and Tepe Yahya', p.50).
Note 35 in Majidzadeh's article:Ali Hakemi, 'Etude rcheologiques de la lisiere du Desert de Lout,' Bastan Chenassi va Honar-e Iran, Revue d'archeologie et d'art Iraniens 2 (1969): 24-25 in French and 36-51 in Persian; idem, 'Shahdad' Iran 11 (1973): 201-3 and pl. 10; Mr. Hakemi has also published two successive reports in Honar va Mardom [Art and People]", a monthly publication of the Directorate General of Cultural Relations of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Arts, no. 126 (April, 1973): 75-83 and no. 127 (May, 1973): 79-89. Since these articles are in Persian, a summary translation of the geographical description of the region and its historical background is given here. "The Dasht-i-Lut is separated from the Kerman region by a range of mountains which continues northwards to the regions of Ravar and Darband, and southwards into the area of Bam. Shahdad, a modern name for the ancient city of Khabiz, is located at the foot of Mount Joftan, the highest peak of which rises some 3,990 m. above sea level. The peaks of this mountain range are covered with snow until the middle of May. Thus a fairly large amount of water flows into the Shahdad plain all through the year. The permanent water of Shahdad is provided by the Derakhtangan river, which originates in the Hinnaman mountains; another river with less water originates in the high peaks of Joftan.
"The remains of several ancient river beds in this region indicate that in prehistoric times the Shahdad plain enjoyed much more water than today. The present regin of Shahdad is entirely covered with citrus and date trees which are more dense in the southern and western than in the eastern and norther parts of the region.
"A brief survey in the vicinity of the Shahdad cemetery has demonstrated extensive cultural remains upto 7 km. to the east of the cemetery. A huge flood during the twelfth or thirteenth century A.D. destroyed this large settlement. The remains of various settlements ranging in date from the prehistoric to the thirteenth century A.D. cover a total area of 64 sq. km. Some Sasanian and Seljuk architectural remains are still visible above ground." For detailed information see A. Hakemi, Honar va Mardom, no. 126 (April, 1973): 76-78. (ibid., pp. 109-110)
The Land of Aratta by Yousef Majidzadeh, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1976), pp. 105-113
http://www.scribd.com/doc/202466867/Lapislazuli-and-the-great-Khorasanroad-Yousef-Majidzadeh-1982
http://www.scribd.com/doc/101875084/Lapis-Lazuli-the-Early-Phases-of-Its-Trade
Lapis lazuli and the Great Khorasan Road
Majidzadeh Y. ![lien]()
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Copper figure of a bull
Decoration detail
