Shulgi: Did you mean...?

The lower surface of the earring . Six gold spheres were lost and were not replaced. The cuneiform text is read vertically, from the upper surface downwards on each segment, and it continues from right to left. One of a pair of gold earrings...

The interior hollow surface of the earring. Note how the carved cuneiform signs appear on this side and how the goldsmith joined the “lunar-shaped” segments of the earring. One of a pair of gold earrings, 24 carats. Gift from Shulgi to a...

Both earrings are placed in a mirror-image position, with the lower surfaces facing each other. Each earring is composed of nine lunar-shaped segments forming a flattened half- ball. The cuneiform signs run vertically from above downward...

The interior hollow surface of the earring. Note how the carved cuneiform signs appear on this side and how the goldsmith joined the “lunar-shaped” segments of the earring. The cuneiform text is read vertically, from the upper surface downwards...

On the back of this piece, there are cuneiform inscriptions that mention that this headdress was commissioned by a Bau-Ninam on behalf of King Shulgi of Ur. It is most likely that this headdress was to be put on the god Lamma. Neo-Sumerian...

This jar was dedicated to Shulgi, king of Ur III dynasty, by the priestess Shuqurtum. There are two incised channels at the upper half; between them, the cuneiform inscription was placed. The inscription also curses anyone who tries to deface...

These are the upper surfaces of both earrings, with their concavity facing right. Note that the cuneiform signs are identical on the corresponding sides. A pair of gold earrings, 24 carats, approximately 48 grams. Gift from Shulgi to a chief...

The world's oldest love poem is The Love Song for Shu-Sin (c. 2000 BCE) composed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in part of the sacred rites of fertility. Prior to its discovery in the 19th century, and its translation in the 20th, the biblical...

The Sumerians were the people of southern Mesopotamia whose civilization flourished between c. 4100-1750 BCE. Their name comes from the region which is frequently – and incorrectly – referred to as a “country”. Sumer was never a cohesive...

A ziggurat is a form of monumental architecture originating in ancient Mesopotamia which usually had a rectangular base and was built in a series of steps up to a flat platform upon which a temple was raised. The ziggurat was an artificial...