Category: Museums & Galleries

“Life did not intend to make us perfect. Whoever is perfect belongs in a museum. ”

Mask of Warka from Ancient Mesopotamia

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History11 Comments

The Mask of Warka, also known as the 'Lady of Uruk' and the 'Sumerian Mona Lisa' is a stunning marble face that dates back to around 3100 BCE. It was found in the city of Uruk, which is now called Warka in modern Iraq. It is the earliest known representation of the human face that was most likely an embodiment of the Goddess Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, war, beauty, sex and fertility. The mask gives us a glimpse into the culture and religion of one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Golden Lyre of Ur

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn History, Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History12 Comments

It is unknown which culture was the first to create music, but a set of beautiful Sumerian instruments from the city of Ur provide us with some insight into the world of ancient music. The famous Lyres of Ur, which are somewhat similar to modern harps, are the oldest stringed instruments unearthed to date. The Golden Lyre, found in the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (in southern Iraq), got its name because the whole head of the bull is made of gold. The eyes are made of inlaid mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli. Research has shown that the bull played a key role in the religious imagination of the Sumerians: it could serve as the deity’s divine animal or the god himself could take on the form of a bull.

Gold Helmet of Meskalamdug (Mesopotamia)

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History8 Comments

Elaborate hairstyles became important for both men and women in Mesopotamia. The kings began to wear a full beard and long braided hair tied in a large bun at the nape of his neck. Women continued to wear their hair long, twisting it into large buns that covered the top of the head to the base of the neck and adorning it with ribbons and pins. The wealthiest people decorated their elaborate hairstyles with beautifully made jewelry of gold and silver. The gold of the helmet of Meskalamdug was expertly formed to resemble the hairstyle popular for men of the time: waves around the face with a bun tied in the back.

The Laws of Eshnunna: Oldest Written Laws

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History6 Comments

The Laws of Eshnunna are a collection of legal codes that were issued by the rulers of the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Eshnunna in the 18th century BCE. They are among the oldest surviving legal documents in the world, and they reveal important aspects of the social, economic, and political life of the people of Eshnunna. The laws cover various topics, such as contracts, property rights, inheritance, family law, personal injury, homicide, theft, and slavery.

Ancient City Shaduppum in Mesopotamia

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History11 Comments

Although Shaduppum was established as early as the late third millenium BCE, during the days of Sargon of Akkad, Shaduppum didn’t rise to prominence until the second millennium BCE, where it seems to have been a heavily fortified administrative station for the kingdom of Eshnunna, and its name means “the treasury.” Among the tablets from Shaduppum are two with parts of the Laws of Eshnunna as well as some important mathematical tablets, which are not only interesting, but surprising too. There remains much we don’t know about Shaduppum, that we may never know, but one thing is clear: Shaduppum was a city that had a little bit of everything that made it a Mesopotamian city worth a look.

The Temple of Inanna

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History4 Comments

There was a section of the facade of the temple of Inanna at Uruk. A wall of baked bricks with buttresses and recesses. This wall was a section of the front facade the temple of the goddess Inanna in Warka, which was built by Karaindash, the Kassite king (1445-1427 BCE) and replaced the wall of mosaic which decorated the facade of the temple Warka since the Jamdat Nasir period.

Iraq Museum: Refuge for Relics of Mesopotamia

On By Indrajit Roy ChoudhuryIn Heritage, Iraq, Museums & Galleries, Prehistory & Ancient History11 Comments

The Iraq Museum is one of the best archaeological museums in the world, containing the material evidence for the development of civilised human society from the very beginning of its history. The museum enshrines Iraq as the cradle of civilisation, the source of writing and statehood. Their collection covers over 5,000 years of Mesopotamian history.