A Sumerian Palace and the "A" cemetery at Kish, Mesopotamia

STONE VESSELS
Plates XXXVIII, No. 10, LV and LVI
Stone vessels were found in only ten graves in all. Of these, six were undis-
turbed, and the stone vessels in them occupied the following positions: in front
of knees (graves 104 and 135) and in front of face (grave 93) ; above head (grave
117); behind head (grave 51); behind shoulders (grave 96). It seems therefore
that no particular value was attached to these objects, if their position in the
burials is any criterion. The distinctive features of the stone vessels, which were
found in actual burials, and are dated thereby, may be enumerated as follows :
PLATE LV
Fig. 2. Burial 96. Limestone. Shallow bowl, poorly made with especially thick base
(see Fig. 12 in Plate XXXVIII, No. 10. Reg. No. 2332; Field).
Fig. 6. Burial 135. Alabaster. Rather deep bowl with slightly rounded base, well-made,
fairly thin, and well polished (see Fig. 13 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10). Found
together with Fig. 8 of Plate LVI (Reg. No. 2715; Field).
Fig. 10. Burial 93. Finely veined alabaster. Shallow, circular dish, with fairly thin sides
and thick, heavy, slightly rounded base (see Fig. 4 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10).
The upper edge has been rubbed down, showing that the dish has been re-used
(Reg. No. 2301; Baghdad).
Fig. 13. Burial 117. Gray granite. Small cup-like bowl, neatly made with small, slightly
rounded base, and well polished (see Fig. 10 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10). Rim
anciently chipped (Reg. No. 2508; Oxford).
Fig. 15. Burial 80. Alabaster. Bowl with slightly incurved sides, thin and well-made,
smoothed down to a fine polish (see Fig. 6 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10). Rim
chipped anciently (Reg. No. 2185; Oxford).
PLATE LVI
Fig. 1. Burial 94. Gray tufa. Shallow bowl of thick and heavy make (see Fig. 9 of Plate
XXXVIII, No. 10). Its edge has been ground down for re-use after being broken;
hence its rough and uneven shape (Reg. No. 2325; Field).
Fig. 2. Burial 48. Alabaster. Shallow bowl, well-shaped. Rim decorated with fine
notches which suggest a rope pattern (see Fig. 5 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10).
Slightly damaged anciently and corroded (Reg. No. 1846; Field).
Fig. 3. Burial 51. Alabaster. Well-shaped jar, but solid and heavy, especially at the base,
whose thickness is out of proportion to the size of the jar (see Fig. 3 of Plate
XXXVIII, No. 10). Slightly damaged anciently and corroded (Reg. No. 1893A;
Field).
Fig. 5. Burial 85. Gray tufa. Bowl, deep for size, with rounded base (see Fig. 11 of Plate
XXXVIII, No. 10). Badly broken anciently and part missing. As the burial
in which it was found had been disturbed, this bowl may possibly be an intrusion
(Reg. No. 2224; Oxford).
Fig. 8. Burial 135. Tufa. Small dish with extraordinarily thick fiat base for size (see Fig.
8 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10). Rim chipped anciently (Reg. No. 2716; Oxford).
Fig. 9. Burial 104. Granite. Thick, heavy bowl, deep for size, with inside roughly ground
out (see Fig. 2 of Plate XXXVIII, No. 10). Rim shows signs of having been
ground down for re-use (Reg. No. 2437; Field).
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