05-06 S Sumerian Ur Cemetery EDIT*

Group #5: Sumerian
Royal Cemetery at Ur
and Queen Pu-abi
• By: Won-Seok Choi, Jason Jacobs,
Jessica Lin, and Alison Wallis

• Historical Context
(3 pages)
Presentation Map
• Ram Caught in a Thicket
(2 pages)
• Standard of Ur (2 pages)
• Cultural Influences
(2 pages)
• The Great Lyre (2 pages)
• Subject and Style
• Silver Head of a Lion
(2 pages)
• Processes and Materials
• The Headdress of Queen
Pu-abi (2 pages)
• Printed Sources and
Links (2 pages)
• Works Cited (2 pages)

Historical Context
By Jessica Lin
• Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia located near the
original mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The remaining of
the city are currently known as Iraq. The city of Ur was founded
sometime in the six thousand B.C. and occupied for nearly five
thousand years. By 2500 B.C. Ur was the center of Mesopotamia due
to its remarkable agricultural and material wealth. Its strategic
location on the Euphrates, with waterway access to the Persian Gulf,
helped it grow by the 3rd millennium into a major, fully urban center.
(Horne, 1). Ur contained the greatest cemetery constructed at the peak
of its early prosperity; around 2650 B.C. Conducted in an excavation
project funded by the British Museum and the University of
Pennsylvania Museum, Professor Wholley excavated nearly 1850
burials. There are sixteen burial artifacts that were deemed royal
because they contained distinctive construction, the wealthy contents,
and they were buried with the remaining body parts of the deceased.

Historical Context Continued…
• The royal burials contained enormous
amounts of gold, electrum, and silver; lapis lazuli,
carnelian, agate, and chalcedony. It contained a
vast collection of jewelry and personal belongings,
even cosmetics. Each tomb also contained from a
half-dozen or more of dead bodies. Unfortunately,
many of these tombs have either been looted or
damaged before Wholley’s historical excavation.
However, the tomb of queen Pu-abi was kept
mostly intact. Pu-abi, identified by a lapis lazuli
seal carved with her name, was clearly an
extraordinary important woman in her day. Her
tomb contains lots of wealthy artifacts as well as
great amounts of history and information about Ur.

Historical Context Continued…
• The city and of Ur, which contained rare and exquisite Sumerian
artifacts from the renowned, 4500-year-old royal cemetery at Ur is
known to the world as the city famed in the Bible as the home of the
patriarch Abraham (Parchin, 1). In the second half of the third
millennium, Sumer and its city-states fell to Sargon I, the conqueror
who unified Mesopotamia and created the Akkadian Empire. The city
rebounded by a brief resurgence of power at the end of the three
thousand B.C. under the ruling of Ur-Namma and his Third Dynasty.
During this period, the massive ziggurat of Ur was raised. However,
the city never regained its prosperity that it once reached, and the city
was not heard until the excavation of the Royal Cemetery of Ur and
Queen Pu-abi by Professor Leonard Wholley.

Ram Caught In a Thicket
ca. 2650-2550 BC
By Jessica Lin
• The Ram in a Thicket was discovered
in the Royal Cemetery of Ur by the
great excavator Leonard Wholley in the
"Great Death Pit" at Ur. It was made
around 2650-2550 B.C. The artifact is
estimated at 45.7 centimeters tall and
30.48 centimeters wide. It was named
the 'Ram in a Thicket', or sometimes
"Ram Caught in a Thicket" by Wholley
who liked biblical allusions. In this
context, Wholley associated it with the
ram caught in a thicket in the biblical
story of Abraham and the intended
sacrifice of Isaac.

Ram Caught in a Thicket Continued…
• In Genesis 22:13, God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but at the last
moment 'Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered
him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son (British Museum, 1). In this story,
Ur was the birth place of Abraham who sacrificed a ram instead of his son, Isaac.
Nevertheless, art historians believe that it is a goat standing on its hind legs eating
the leaves of a tree.
• The statue is an amazing example of an artifact made from delicate and composite
materials. The artifact is composed of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, red
limestone and bitumen. It was badly crushed when it was discovered, and wax was
used to keep the pieces together as it was lifted from the ground, and it was then
pressed back into shape. This delicate work was probably part of a larger sculpture,
perhaps a support for a table used in an elaborate Sumerian ritual (Thicket in the
Ram, British Museum, 1). This artwork is rich in symbolism. For example,
Sumerians were acutely concerned with animal fertility and the fecundity of
vegetation. Therefore, the artifact is surrounded by stylized rosettes representing
Inanna, goddess of love, fertility and conversely, and war (Parchin, 1). The artifact
is permanently collected by the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and
everybody should visit this magnificent artwork once in a life time.

• The Standard of Ur, also known as
the "Battle Standard of Ur," or the
"Royal Standard of Ur”, was
excavated by Professor Wholley
from the Royal Cemetery in the
ancient city of Ur. It was a
Sumerian artifact made around
2,600-2,400 B.C. The Standard is a
hollow wooden box measuring 8.5
inches high and 19.5 inch long, and
it’s made with a mosaic of shell,
red limestone and lapis lazuli. Its
original function is not known,
however, Leonard Wholley
suggested that it had been carried
on a pole, borne as a standard.
Standard of Ur
ca. 2650-2550 BC
By Jessica Lin
•It has also been speculated that it
was the sound box of a musical
instrument.
(Standard of Ur, Wikipedia, 1).

Standard of Ur Continued…
• The object contained two main panels called War and Peace. The War
section depicted a march by the Sumerian army. The Sumerian army
was likely engaged in a border skirmish. The panel contained soldiers
on chariots trampling enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears;
enemy soldiers killed with axes; spearmen clad in armored cloaks; and
other infantrymen bearing sickle-like knives or axes. The panel also
depicted wounded, naked, and humiliated prisoners being presented to
the king who holds a spear (Standards of Ur, British Museum, 1).
• On the other hand, the "Peace" panel depicts a banquet scene and also
various scenes of life: animals, fish and other goods are brought in
procession to a banquet; seated figures, wearing woolen fleeces or
fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a
lyre (Standard of Ur, Wikipedia, 1). The lyre that the harpist played in
the “Peace” panel was identical to the great Lyre of Ur that was also
excavated by Professor Wholley in the Cemetery of Ur. The great
Standard of Ur is currently a permanent collection of British Museum.
It was a remarkable artifact and it was an important piece of history
which enabled everybody to understand the magnificent Sumerian
Era.

Cultural Influences
By Won-Seok Choi
• Lavish jewelry of gold and lapis lazuli, cups of gold and silver, bowls
of alabaster, and extravagant objects of art and culture were among
the Mesopotamian treasures discovered in the late 1920s by famous
British archaeologist C. Leonard as part of a joint expedition by the
British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum
(Parchin, 1). One of the most amazing discoveries he made in ancient
Mesopotamia was the royal cemeteries at Ur and the exquisite
artifacts from there, which revealed the glory of ancient Sumerian
culture of the third millennium B.C. We see from the cemetery and
many artifacts of the royal cemetery at Ur that much of their art meant
for funerary and religious purposes. In the third millennium B.C., the
leading families of Ur buried their deceased in vaulted chambers
under the earth. In the cemeteries at Ur, excavators found gold
daggers and helmets, golden beakers and bowls, jewelry, musical
instruments, and a lot more luxuries.

Cultural Influences Continued…
• They also found dozens of bodies of musicians,
soldiers, and servants that have been sacrificed to
accompany the kings, queens, or aristocrats. In this
sense, the royal cemetery at Ur provides a glimpse
into the ancient Sumerian culture, in which people
believed that there is an afterlife that carried a great
deal of significance among the Sumerians. This
cultural belief led the ancient Sumerians to produce
luxurious musical instruments that would entertain
the deceased and golden daggers and helmets to
protect the dead. Many other artifacts from the
royal cemetery at Ur were created for this purpose.
• A theme frequently reflected in artifacts found in
the cemetery is that of a funerary banquet. The
scenes from the sound box of the Great Lyre from
the “King’s Grave” depicts composite animals
feasting, and other artifacts such as golden beakers
and bowls shows a banquet. The use of animals
and their features is frequently seen in the artifacts
discovered in the royal cemetery at Ur.
•The Great Lyre, Ram in the
Thicket, and Silver Head of a
Lion all depict an animal or it
features. This indicates their
“belief in power over the
physical world by combination
of various species' physical
attributes” (Parchin, 1).

The Great Lyre
ca. 2650-2550 BC
By Won-Seok Choi
• Among the extravagant Sumerian artifacts from the
Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur such as jewelry of gold,
cups of gold and silver, bowls of alabaster, and objects of
art was one of the world's earliest known musical
instruments: a large wooden lyre with the gold and lapis
lazuli bull's head and plaque that has a series of panels
describing mythical animals feasting. This splendid lyre
that we now refer to as the Great Lyre from the “King’s
Grave” or Bull-headed lyre for its magnificent bull’s head
that caps the lyre’s sound box has been reconstructed
according to the measurements made by the original
excavators and now sits in the University of Pennsylvania
Museum (British Museum Online, 1). Composed of gold,
lapis lazuli, shell, and wood, the lyre is approximately
5’5” high, its sound box being 1’7” high. It is fashioned
of gold lead and lapis lazuli over a wooden core. The
bull’s head attached to its front is also made of a wooden
core covered by a sheet of gold, and details are of lapis
lazuli and shell.

The Great Lyre Continued…
• The trapezoid-shaped sound box underneath the bull’s
beard bears four inlaid panels depicting feasting imaginary
composite creatures and is composed of contrasting shell
and bitumen. The first panel from the top features a heroic
human-headed bearded bull embracing other human
headed bulls in a heraldic composition, or in a symmetrical
fashion on either side of a central figure, all shown in
partial profile (Parchin, 1). The other three panels depict
animals attending a funerary banquet such as a scorpionman,
a dog carrying a laden table, a lion serving beverage,
and an ass playing a lyre, all shown in profile. Parchin
contends that the mixture of human and animal features in
some of the figures in the scenes “represents a
Mesopotamian belief in power over the physical world by
combination of various species' physical attributes”
(Parchin, 1). The meaning of the sound box scenes is
much debated among scholars, but some have suggested
that the animals in the scenes are of the dead world and
that “the narrative has a funerary significance”.
(Kleiner, 25)

Subject and Style
By Jason Jacobs
• Ur, along with the city-states of Larsa, Uruk and Lagash, included
what can best be described as Sumer in the southeastern part of the
Fertile Crescent. The Sumerians created some of the most beautiful
art of their time. The Sumerians artwork illustrates the theme of
religious and funeral type purposes. The subject of war and peace also
can be seen in some works. The theme of mythology was carried into
the art pieces such as the Silver Head of a Lion. C. Leonard Woolley
excavated Ur's Royal Cemetery and he uncovered the treasures of
Queen, or Lady Pu-abi. In these royal tombs, Woolley discovered the
remains of an elaborate funeral and burial ceremonies of the Kings
and Queens of Ur. Ur, previously known only through Biblical
accounts as the home of the patriarch Abraham, became a historical
reality with Woolley's astonishing discoveries. The royal tombs at Ur
opened the world's eyes to the full history of ancient Sumerian culture
at its best between ca. 2600-2500 B.C.

Silver Head of a Lion
ca. 2650-2550 BC
By Jason Jacobs
• For our group topic of Sumerian Royal
Cemetery at Ur and Queen Pu-abi, I
chose to interpret the Silver Head of a
Lion. The Silver Head of a Lion was
found in the royal tombs of the kings
and queens of Ur between ca. 2650-
2550 B.C.The Silver Head of a Lion
came from the excavation of Ur's Royal
Cemetery. In the royal tombs of Ur,
jewelry fashioned from gold, silver,
carnelian, lapis lazuli, elegant vessels
made of precious metals, stones, and
shell, and a variety of utensils. This
included items such as a gold drinking
tube, silver and gold cosmetic sets.

Silver Head of a Lion Continued…
• The weapons found in the tomb were also used by the
royals. The Silver Head of a Lion demonstrated with its
penetrating stare and its fierce outlook on evil. It is one of
a pair presumably attached as an adornment to a wooden
object. It is made of silver, shell and precious lapis lazuli.
It is approximately 11 cm high and12 cm wide. The artist
represented an animal central to Sumerian mythology.
This ordain object created a magical talisman to ward off
evil. There is subtle attention to detail as seen in both the
lion's locks of hair and the intensity of its gaze. Once
again, this stare suggests a fierce and menacing snarl.

Materials and Processes
By Alison Wallis
• The ancient Sumerians used a variety of precious materials to create their
elaborate works of art. Of the pieces found in the cemetery at Ur, many were
made of gold, silver, copper, and electrum. The favorite of all the precious
metals was gold. The gold they used was of the best quality ranging anywhere
from 39k to 89k. It was soft and malleable making it easier to construct into
elaborate details. The common process that they would use with gold would be
that of pounding the gold until paper-thin. They would create gold leaf which
commonly adorned many of their pieces. They also used wood and would carve
it into musical instruments or plaques. Unfortunately the wood did not survive
the decay and had to be reconstructed. Inlay was a seemingly popular process
used by the craftsmen when working with wood. They would carve out scenes
of animals from wood and then fill it in with different kinds of stone. The most
common stones that were used in inlay are lapis lazuli, red limestone, shell, and
bitumen. They only used the best of materials when creating pieces to go with
the queen or king into the afterlife. They would also engrave stone seals that
were buried with the queen and other important persons. They made very
beautiful jewelry that would adorn the person from head-to-toe. This jewelry
would be gold strands with beads of lapis lazuli and carnelian.

Headdress of Lady Pu-abi
• This piece was originally
worn by Queen Pu-abi over
an elaborate hairstyle or wig.
This headdress was probably
not worn that often by Pu-abi.
Inline with their beliefs in the
afterlife, this piece was more
than likely an offer to the
gods. This piece is
constructed from 40k gold
that has been pounded until
extremely thin and pliable. It
is also adorned with strands
of lapis lazuli and carnelian
beads. At the end of each
gold leaf is a small bead.
ca. 2650-2550 BC
By Alison Wallis

The Headdress of Lady Pu-abi
• The headdress also consists of
large crescent earrings that are
constructed from the same 40k
gold. To add to the already
intricate headpiece there is a tall
comb that has been pounded and
cut into beautiful flowers. This
adds to the femininity of the piece.
This piece strongly reflects the
pride that the Sumerians took in
the work and the reverence they
showed to their gods and royalty.
All of their work is crafted with
the utmost care and with the best
materials that are available to
them.
Continued…

Printed Sources and Internet
Links for Further Information
• Baumann, Hans: In the Land of Ur: The Discovery of Ancient
Mesopotamia, translated by Stella Humphries. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1969.
• Kramer, Samuel Noah: The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and
Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
• Reade, Julian: Mesopotamia. London: British Museum Press, 1991.
• Finegan, Jack: Archaeological History of the Ancient Middle East.
New York: Dorset, 1979.
• Stefoff, Rebecca: Finding the Lost Cities. New York: Oxford
University Press, c. 1997.

Printed Sources and Internet
Links for Further Information
• Woolley, Sir Leonard: Excavations at Ur: A Record of Twelve Years
Work. New York: Crowell, 1955.
• Zettler, Richard L. and Lee Horne, editors: Treasures from the Royal
Tombs of Ur. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology, 1998.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art at www.clemusart.com/exhibit/ur
• The Royal Tombs of Ur at www.mesopotamia.co.uk/tombs
• McClung Museum at www.mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur

Works Cited
Won-Seok Choi
• Parchin, S. 2006, Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. About, Inc., the New
York Times Company. 2006. April, 29, 2006.
•
• Horne, L. 1998. Ur and its Treasures: The Royal Tombs, Expedition. Vol. 40, No.
2 < http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur-hist.htm>
• Standard of Ur. Wikipedia, 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
. April, 25, 2006
• Parchin, Stan. “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.” About.com. 2006. The
New York Times Company. 4 May, 2006.
.
• The British Museum Online. 2000. Compass Collection Online. 4 May, 2006.
• .
• Kleiner, Fred, and Christin, Mamiya. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: the
Western Perspective. 12 th Ed. Vol. 1. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.

Works Cited
Jessica Lin
• The British Museum Online, 2000. Compass Collection Online. April, 29.
2006.
• < www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=obj1740>
Jason Jacobs
• http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_urrev.htm
• http://www.stlouis.art.museum/index.aspx?id=176
Alison Wallis
• McClung Museum, 1999. http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur.htm
• Wilson, Karen. The Oriental Institute Museum, The University of Chicago.
http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/INFO/NN_Fal00/NN_Fal00.html#fig5