Ur III: Did you mean...?

These are the lower surfaces of both earrings. The free end of the golden arch can be clearly seen. A pair of gold earrings, 24 carats, approximately 48 grams. Gift from Shulgi to a chief of servants of a temple. The name of the goddess Mammetum...

A curator is doing a routine and regular preservation work on a pair of gold earrings at the lab of the Sulaymaniyah Museum of Iraqi Kurdistan. October 18, 2017; exclusive photo. Ur III Period, reign of Shulgi, 2093-2046 BCE. Probably from...

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...

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...

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...

This is the lower surface of the earring. 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, 24 carats. Gift from Shulgi to a chief...

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...

This is the upper surface of the earring. Note how the cuneiform signs were carved and distributed and their distance from the center. The cuneiform text is read vertically, from the upper surface downwards on each segment, and it continues...

Leo III was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 717 to 741 CE. He founded the Isaurian dynasty which ruled until 802 CE. The emperor was a talented administrator, and he revamped the empire's political apparatus and legal code. Leo's reign...

Michael III, also known as “Michael the Drunkard” by his detractors, was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 842 to 867 CE. Never quite escaping the shadow of his mother Theodora, who ruled as regent in his name until c. 855 CE, or his uncle...