Ancient Mesopotamia: Did you mean...?

In the cultures of the ancient world, there was no need for designations such as LGBTQ+ because there was no difference noted between what is now defined as "homosexual" and "heterosexual" relationships. There was no "us" and "them" dichotomy...

Lying at the crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean, the island of Cyprus has long been a meeting point for many of the world's great civilizations. Situated where Europe, Asia and Africa meet, its location shaped its history of bringing...

The figure could be an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, the 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 upper halves of terracotta plaques, depicting a male figure (on the left, who has a long beard) and a female figure (on the right, with bare breast) wearing a horned headdress (symbol of divinity) and appearing to hold a long bar in both...

This is a diorite mina weight in the shape of a sugar loaf. The inscriptions state that this was a copy of a weight made for Nebuchadnezzar, following the standard of Shulgi, "The Old Sumerian King" (reigned 2094-2047 BCE). It was the property...

In this food issue list, "rations" is written by combining a human head a bowl (a triangular object in front of the head). This combination, in later Sumerian texts, means "to eat". The triangular object was the regular representation of...

Only the upper half of this clay statue of a naked woman has survived. It represent a worshipper. Traces of red color (original paint) can still be seen. She has an elaborate hair style and wears a 4-strand necklace and broad bracelets. Date...

This boundary stone, or kudurru, records a gift of land made by Eanna-shum-iddina, governor of the Sea-Land in Southern Babylonia. The receiver's name is Gula-Eresh. The text ends with a series of curses on anyone questioning the gift or...

This lyre was found in the 'Great Death-Pit', one of the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. From Ur, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. Early dynastic period, 2600-2400 BCE. (The British Museum, London)

The convex and carved surfaces of the earrings. Each earring is composed of nine lunar-shaped segments forming a flattened half- ball. The cuneiform signs run vertically from above downward, starting from the right end. A pair of gold earrings...