Standard of Ur - an Overview | Ceative Images-Rustic Roads

The ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur was “rediscovered” by J. G. Taylor, who first excavated in 1853 and 1854. Extensive excavations were conducted by a joint expedition of the University Museum of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and the British Museum, London, led by Leonard Woolley from 1922 to 1934 (Moon). The Standard itself was found between 1922 and 1924. The city of Ur was founded as early as 4000 to 5000 BCE, however it first came to prominence about 2500 BCE, during what is called the First Dynasty of Ur. The most significant area excavated by Wooley is a complex of Royal Tombs located near the Temple Buildings. These tombs had been ransacked during ancient times, however in chamber D of tomb PG779 he made one of his most startling discoveries, which he referred to as the “Standard of Ur.” This artifact dates to 2400-2600 BCE.

The Standard of Ur is an inlaid wooden trapezoidal box measuring 8.5 x 19.5 inches. It is a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli held together with bitumen glue. It consists of two panels – one depicting scenes of war (the War Panel) and the other, a banquet (the Peace Panel).

It was found near the shoulder of a soldier and was in a decayed condition – the wood had of course disappeared over the millennia, and the shape had been crushed by the weight of the soil. The current reconstruction is only a “best guess.” Here is an accurate description of the original find: “Above the head, the workmen began to find small squares and triangles made of shell and lapis lazuli. Then, they began finding small figures carved out of shell. As they cleared away the dirt, they saw many more fragments of shell and stone in a pattern on the floor. The fragments were all taken back to the workroom and studied. It seemed that the fragments had originally been attached to a small wooden box which had disintegrated. Woolley thought that it was a standard because it was found above and just to the right of the man’s head as though it had been held high up on a pole.” (Mesopotamia)

Because of its positioning in the tomb Woolley called it the “Standard of Ur.” Three dimensional standards were common in the ancient world – Helmut Nickel, in “Flags and Standards” states that “Practically all…armies of the Ancient Near East…used three-dimensional standards.” However, Nickels continues: “The famous Royal Standard of Ur…however, is a misnomer; in spite of its war and peace iconography, it was probably the sound-box of a musical instrument.” Which transits nicely to the second hypothesis concerning the Standard – that it is part of a musical instrument.

It is unlikely that anyone will ever know for sure whether the box was a standard or the sound box of an instrument. What is important is the scenes on the box. Each side consists of three registers. The king is represented on each side in hieratic fashion. “The Standard shows the two most important roles of an early Mesopotamian ruler: the warrior who protected the people and secured access to water and natural resources (War Panel) and the leader who served as an intermediary between the people and the gods (Peace Panel).” (Ur’s Royal Cemetery)

The War Panel has one of the earliest depictions of Sumerian Warriors. It was possibly a boarder skirmish – Sumeria was divided into 20-30 city-states at this time, sometimes at peace, sometimes not. It also shows two and four wheeled carts drawn by Onagers (wild Asses), one of the first depictions of the wheel, which had been invented in Sumeria about 3500 BCE. These were probably used to carry supplies, as the solid wheeled vehicles would have been very cumbersome in battle.

Battles were often accompanied by victory banquets (Dominique Collon, et al. “Narrative art”), and banquet scenes such as this are common on cylinder seals of the period. “In addition to being a warrior, the city-state’s ruler was an intermediary between the gods and the people. One of his major responsibilities was to build and maintain the temples of the city’s gods and goddesses, a responsibility that included provisioning their cults. In doing so he guaranteed the fertility of the land, which the Standard’s Peace side so vividly illustrates” (Ur’s Royal Cemetery).

I found no commentary on the end panels, which appear to have been merely decorative.

It is amazing that such a small and fragile piece could survive all these (about 4500) years. However, one needs to keep in mind that the current reconstruction is not necessarily exactly what it looked like in it’s original state. It’s accuracy can only be guessed at – and would be dependent on the sophistication of the archaeological techniques used by Woolley. Although we will never know it’s true function, this look inside the royal society of this ancient period is priceless.

Bibliography

Dominique Collon, et al. “Narrative art.” In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.lrc.cod.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T061028 (accessed January 23, 2010).

Mesopotamia.” The British Museum, http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/tombs/explore/pg779_01.html (accessed January 23, 2010).

Jane Moon. “Ur.” In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.lrc.cod.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T087263 (accessed January 23, 2010).

Helmut Nickel. “Flags and standards.” In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.lrc.cod.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T028487 (accessed January 23, 2010).

“The Standard of Ur.” The British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_standard_of_ur.aspx (accessed January 23, 2010).

“Ur’s Royal Cemetery,” Iraq’s Ancient Past (exhibit), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/?page_id=48 (accessed January 23, 2010).