Woolley, C. Leonard. Ur Excavations, Volume II: The Royal Cemetery. London: The British Museum and The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1934. Public domain – available via both the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons.

The goal is to present a layered portrait of Ur: not only as archaeologists and historians have reconstructed it through decades of excavation and research, but also as I experienced it; standing before its great ziggurat, wandering its dust-blown ruins and imagining the voices of scribes and kings carried through time.

Much of what we know about Ur comes from Sir Leonard Woolley’s excavations, particularly his documentation of the Royal Cemetery, which forms a central focus of this piece – you will find references to Woolley’s firsthand observations and drawings of some of Ur’s most spectacular artifacts - like Queen Puabi’s headdress and the bull-headed lyres.

The Lost City of Ur: Sumer’s Ancient Metropolis

Ubaid Period – Beginnings on the Euphrates

Ur’s origins stretch back to the Ubaid period, around 3800 BC, when a small settlement took root on a mound now known as Tell el-Muqayyar: its inhabitants built with mudbrick, irrigated their fields and worshipped in temples - humble beginnings for what would one day become a mighty Sumerian city-state.

Uruk period (c. 4100 – 2900 BC) – Growth Under the Shadow of Uruk

During the Uruk period, Ur expanded in complexity under the shadow of the larger city of Uruk. It developed its own temples, crafts and long-distance trade networks, laying the cultural and economic groundwork for independence.

Early Dynastic period (c. 2900 – 2350 BC) – The Rise of a Sumerian City-State

By the Early Dynastic period, Ur had emerged as a powerful Sumerian city-state, with its own line of kings. The earliest recorded ruler, Mesannepada, reigned around the 26th century BC and is named in the Sumerian King List as the founder of Ur’s First Dynasty. Under his dynasty, Ur became fabulously wealthy, a fact dramatically confirmed by the discovery of the Royal Cemetery of Ur: a sprawling funerary complex that stunned its excavators with the scale of its opulence.

Unearthing Ur’s Royal Cemetery

In the 1920s, British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley excavated roughly 1850 burials at the site, including 16 “Royal Tombs” lavishly filled with treasures. One of the most remarkable belonged to a woman identified as Queen Puabi, whose name appeared on a cylinder seal found in her tomb.

Queen Puabi and Her Court of the Dead

Puabi was laid to rest with an extravagant golden headdress, carnelian and lapis jewelry and dozens of attendants, sacrificed to accompany her into the afterlife. These tombs held objects of gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian and shell, imported from as far as India and Afghanistan. The sheer abundance of imported goods reveals Ur’s far-reaching trade networks and sharply stratified society in the Early Bronze Age.

Queen Puabi’s headdress, discovered in astonishing condition, is among the most breathtaking finds. Composed of delicate gold leaves, floral rosettes, lapis lazuli beads and ribbons of sheet gold, it crowned her in both life and death. The craftsmanship is meticulous: tiny golden spirals and clustered blossoms glinting softly beneath the dust of millennia.

Lying nearby were the bull-headed lyres - stringed instruments used in ceremonial music. One lyre features the golden face of a bull, complete with lapis lazuli eyes and a beard of dark bitumen, set against a soundboard inlaid with shell mosaics. The imagery includes mythological scenes: animals walking upright, playing instruments or serving drink - a surreal Sumerian vision of the afterlife or perhaps a funeral rite. It is easy to imagine these lyres played in Puabi’s burial chamber as her court and companions joined her in death.

Golden Splendor: The Bull-Headed Lyre of PG 1237

Found in PG 1237, the same “Great Death Pit” where the famous “Ram Caught in a Thicket” statues were discovered (see above), the “Golden Lyre” gets its name from its most striking feature: the bull’s head, entirely crafted from gold. Its eyes, made of inlaid nacre and lapis lazuli, exude lifelike intensity, while the stylized beard closely resembles that of the “Great Lyre” (see below at the section for Meskalamdug) and the “Queen’s Lyre” (see just above).

The Royal Standard of Ur

And, as briefly mentioned right above, the Royal Standard of Ur deserves a closer look. This rectangular wooden box, intricately inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli and red limestone, was found in Tomb PG 779. Its panels depict vivid scenes of warfare and celebration, likely symbolizing the dual role of kingship in battle and in peace. On one side, chariots and infantry crush enemies beneath their wheels; on the other, the king reclines at a banquet, surrounded by musicians and attendants. Though its exact function remains debated (Woolley originally believed it was a military standard), it more likely served a ceremonial or symbolic role.

The Tomb(s) of Meskalamdug: Prince or King?

Among the smaller but no less significant burials in the Royal Cemetery is PG 755, attributed to Meskalamdug, whose name means “Hero of the Good Land”.

Although the tomb lacked the elaborate architecture of other royal graves, it yielded a wealth of gold objects: most notably a gold helmet. The absence of accompanying attendants suggests it may have belonged to a prince or earlier ruler, yet the grave goods testify to immense wealth and status.

Meskalamdug is thought to be an ancestor of Mesannepada, the founder of Ur’s First Dynasty.

However, some scholars, including Julian Reade, now argue that the true royal tomb of King Meskalamdug is more likely PG 789, known as “the King’s grave”: this richly appointed tomb lies adjacent to PG 800, the burial of Queen Puabi (see above) and contained royal attendants and fine grave goods – supporting the idea that Meskalamdug was a king in his own right. Some even suggest Puabi may have been his second wife.

Further Treasures from the Royal Tombs

Also found were ornate inlaid plaques, combs, cosmetics containers, weapons with jewel-inlaid hilts and fragments of wooden furniture overlaid with mosaics. All this paints a vivid picture:

Ur’s elite lived in splendor, died in ceremony and entered the afterlife in gold.

Ur III Period (c. 2112 – 2004 BC) – The Ziggurat and the Sumerian Revival

Ziggurats were a hallmark of ancient Mesopotamian architecture: multi-tiered temple platforms that rose high above the cityscape. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, which were tombs, ziggurats served as the foundation for temples, believed to connect heaven and earth. Their earliest forms date back to the late 3rd millennium BC, evolving from earlier flat temple terraces into towering, stepped structures. They were typically built with a mudbrick core and a baked-brick exterior, often faced with colored glazed bricks in later periods. Each ziggurat was dedicated to a city’s patron deity - and in Ur, that was Nanna, the moon god. The ziggurat was not accessible to the public; only priests ascended its levels to perform rituals and offer sacrifices in the temple at its summit.

Under Ur-Nammu’s rule around 2100 BC, the city of Ur was transformed by monumental architecture. The most iconic of these is the Great Ziggurat of Ur, constructed to honor Nanna. Though partially restored in modern times, the massive core of mudbrick remains original: a visible link between the modern traveler and the ancient world.

The E-dub-lal-mah: House of Tablets and Counsel

As Ur grew into the political and religious center of the Ur III empire, the city also became a hub of administration and literacy. At the heart of this bureaucratic machine was the E-dub-lal-mah or “House of Tablets and Counsel” - this institution likely functioned as both a record-keeping center and a court of law.

Thousands of clay tablets from Ur III and Old Babylonian layers (many recovered from houses near the ziggurat precinct) preserve exercises in mathematics, literature, law and administration. These suggest a structured curriculum and formal training in a scribal profession that was essential to managing temple economies and royal bureaucracy.

Standing Where Kings Once Dreamed

Being in Ur, I couldn’t help but think of Ur-Nammu …the king who built not just walls and temples, but a vision of order rising from dust. Standing at the base of his ziggurat, it felt less like visiting a ruin and more like stepping into a story still unfolding.

There is something powerful about walking where kings once walked, where myths of moon gods and divine favor shaped real cities. Ur was an ambition made sacred – a place where rulers tried to touch the heavens and sometimes almost did.

To see it now, weathered but still standing, is to be reminded that:

some dreams really do last thousands of years.

But this article is about something more than memories: it’s about history. It’s about Nippur, the city often called the spiritual center (or even the heart) of ancient Sumer. I have written about Nippur across platforms: on my personal website, on Behance and even in research-based videos on YouTube. Here now is the story behind my photographs titled Nippur, Iraq: The Bond of Heaven and Earth.

Journey to Nippur

This journey begins on the dusty but charming streets of Afak - the quiet southern Iraqi town that acts like a portal to Nippur. From here, a dream unfolds across time.

Note: In the following article, each major historical period will be briefly introduced and illustrated with artefacts sourced from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s open-access database. These items are designated as public domain (CC0) and are therefore freely reusable. In some cases, I have cropped the images and standardized their background colour to achieve a more balanced visual presentation - landscape and on-site photographs are my own; these images are also available via Wikimedia Commons and can be freely reused with proper attribution.

Timeline & Personal Reflection

Ubaid and Uruk Periods (c. 5000-3100 BC)

Nippur began as a sacred settlement even in the earliest phases of Mesopotamian civilization. The Ekur - Enlil’s temple - already existed in some form and the city’s role was cosmological, not political.

As I stood on the tell, the wind was loud but the ground was soft: here, no throne ruled, but gods did.

Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900-2350 BC)

Nippur became the spiritual heart of Sumer, revered as the seat of Enlil. Kings sought legitimacy through its priesthood. It was here that scribal tradition flourished and where pilgrimage converged.

Akkadian Period (c. 2350-2150 BC)

Sargon and Naram-Sin honored Nippur, though the latter was later accused of desecrating the Ekur - a theological explanation for his downfall.

Naram-Sin (below), grandson of Sargon of Akkad, undertook major restoration works at Nippur, including the renovation of the Ekur temple and reinforcement of the city’s fortifications.

Ur III Period (c. 2112-2004 BC)

Ur-Nammu and Shulgi rebuilt the Ekur on a monumental scale, including the massive three-tiered ziggurat; this was Nippur’s architectural golden age.

This was where divinity met design.

Did you know?

The ziggurats of the Ur III period (eg. those at Ur and Nippur) served as architectural prototypes for sacred structures in Mesopotamia: their design and symbolic significance were reflected in the construction of later ziggurats, such as those at Dur-Kurigalzu and Babylon.

Old Babylonian Period (c. 1894-1595 BC)

Following the collapse of Ur III, Nippur was fought over by Isin, Larsa and Babylon. Hammurabi integrated the city, but Marduk’s rise marked Enlil’s eclipse. Eventually, Nippur was abandoned following the Euphrates’ diversion.

Kassite Period (c. 1595-1155 BC)

Nippur was revived. The world’s oldest city map was found here. Cultic functions were restored, though never again to the scale of Ur III.

Assyrian and Parthian Periods (c. 900 BC-2nd c. AD)

The city retained symbolic importance and the Parthians built a fortress atop the ziggurat mound - visible in the cruciform layout of its walls.

The structure atop the ziggurat (above) is not of ancient origin; it was constructed in 1896 during the University of Pennsylvania excavations, serving as a field station and observation post - it was built using bricks sourced directly from the site.

However, conflicting archaeological records raise the possibility that a Parthian-era fortress may have previously stood at this location.

Early Islamic Period (7th – 9th c. AD)

Surprisingly, Nippur remained inhabited as a Christian bishopric until its final abandonment around 800 AD. This final chapter, that is rarely discussed, shows the city’s enduring spiritual role - even outside its original religious context.

So, all in all, Nippur was not a city of kings – it was a city of gods, scribes and continuity;

from Sumer to Islam, it witnessed the rise and fall of empires, yet remained rooted in something more eternal.

And, these photographs are my window into that eternity - imperfect, dusty but sacred all the same.

Want to see the full series?

Feel free to view my Behance gallery: an on-site visual record of Nippur, Iraq, captured through personal field photography and shared via Behance as part of an open-access cultural heritage project by Noemi Alzayadi

Feel free to watch my YouTube video: Nippur Across Civilizations: From the Early Dynastic Period to the Early Islamic Era by Noemi Alzayadi

Archaeological discoveries in Hungary reveal how widespread and varied this ritual tradition was. Bronze openwork rattles have been unearthed from multiple sites, including Aszód, Budapest, Balassagyarmat and Mihályfa. For the purposes of this article, however, we focus on four key archaeological contexts where such finds are especially significant:

• Gyöngyös: six deer-topped rattles, found together in a cremation grave.
• Nagytarcsa: two rattles crowned with bulls, alongside one broken specimen.
• Szurdokpüspöki: a rattle decorated with a feline figure.
• Gernyeszeg: a rattle with the image of a kulan.

Each find site adds to a broader picture of Scythian ritual practice, but also raises questions. Who were the Scythians, and why did their objects appear here in the Carpathian Basin?

Who Were the Scythians?

The Scythians were nomadic equestrian peoples of the Eurasian steppe, flourishing between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC. Their territory stretched from the northern Black Sea across vast grasslands into Central Asia, and their cultural networks extended as far as Persia and Greece.

By the 7th century BC, Scythian groups had reached the Carpathian Basin. By the 6th century BC, they had established a regional presence marked by cremation burials (a hallmark of the Vekerzug culture, though not without exceptions), bronze-working and animal-style ornamentation. Their influence waned, however, by the late 5th century BC, when Celtic groups began to move into the region, absorbing and transforming aspects of Scythian culture.

A Ritual Tradition in Motion

The rattles found in Hungary are not isolated curiosities. Comparable artefacts have been unearthed further east, especially in the northern Caucasus, suggesting that this tradition of sound and symbolism moved westward with Scythian migrations and cultural exchanges.

What Were Scythian Ritual Rattles?

Form and construction

Scythian ritual rattles were hollow bronze implements, typically bell- or mace-shaped, with surfaces pierced by geometric openwork designs. Many examples include a socketed base, suggesting that they could be mounted onto wooden poles or staffs.

Zoomorphic symbolism

Most rattles were surmounted by small animal figurines - deer, bulls and felines being the most common. These motifs are not merely decorative. Within steppe belief systems, which combined elements of totemism and early shamanic practice, such animals were understood as spiritual guides or mediators: the stag as a protective figure, the bull as a marker of strength and fertility and the feline as a liminal creature associated with agility and power.

Interpretation and function

Earlier scholarship sometimes described these artefacts as wagon ornaments. However, their form, together with their frequent association with bronze bells, has led more recent interpretations to emphasize a ritual role. They may have been mounted on poles and used in shamanic ceremonies, where the jingling sound contributed to trance induction and communication with the spiritual world.

Four Archaeological Sites Yielding Scythian Bronze Rattles

1. Gyöngyös: Six Deer-Topped Rattles

One of the most remarkable discoveries of Scythian ritual rattles in the Carpathian Basin was made in 1907 near the town of Gyöngyös in northern Hungary. During vineyard work, a cremation grave was uncovered containing six bronze openwork rattles, each crowned with a finely cast figurine of a deer - an animal of profound symbolic weight in Scythian ideology, often associated with protection, vitality and the mediation between worlds.

The assemblage demonstrates two distinct modes of construction: four examples are fitted with iron tangs (one now broken), while the remaining two possess socketed bases, suggesting that they were designed for mounting on wooden poles, perhaps as part of ritual performances.

Today, three of the Gyöngyös rattles are preserved in the Hungarian National Museum, representing three distinct size variants:

• Large: 18.4 cm in height

• Medium: 14.6 cm

• Small: 14.1 cm

2. Nagytarcsa: Bull-Topped Rattles and a Ritual Hoard

In the summer of 1964, a buried hoard of Scythian-period artefacts was uncovered during community work in the courtyard of a physician’s residence in Nagytarcsa (Pest County, Hungary). The assemblage included three bronze openwork rattles, eight conical bronze bells and four iron horse bits, forming a remarkable complex of ritual and equestrian equipment.

Among the rattles were two complete examples topped with standing bull figures (each c. 22 – 23 cm in height) and one fragmentary piece. Unlike the Gyöngyös rattles – where iron tangs predominated – all of the Nagytarcsa examples were fitted with socketed bases.

The bull motif is especially notable, as it appears infrequently among Scythian artefacts in the Carpathian Basin. In steppe iconography, however, the bull was a powerful symbol, linked with fertility, physical strength, and ritual authority. Its deliberate inclusion in this assemblage underscores the symbolic layering of Scythian ritual practice.

The cultural resonance of the discovery endured into the modern era: in 1991, one of the bull-topped rattles was chosen as the central motif of Nagytarcsa’s coat of arms, securing its place not only in ancient but also in local civic identity.

3. Szurdokpüspöki: A Feline-Topped Rattle from the Zagyva Valley

The first Scythian-related find at Szurdokpüspöki, a village on the northern Hungarian plains, was recorded in 1938, when a carved bone object was delivered to the Hungarian National Museum. Measuring around 12 cm in length and decorated with a bird’s head in the characteristic Scythian animal style, the piece offered an early indication of steppe influence in the Zagyva Valley.

More significant discoveries followed in 1965, when deep ploughing on the outskirts of Szurdokpüspöki, near the Zagyva River, brought to light a disturbed Scythian-period burial. Although no intact grave structure was preserved, the presence of human remains and associated artefacts revealed the funerary context.

Among the finds was one of the most striking ritual objects in the region: a bronze openwork rattle (height: 23.3 cm), now housed in the Hungarian National Museum. Its socketed shaft is decorated with geometric perforations and almond-shaped motifs, while the top is sealed with a flat bronze disc supporting a finely modeled feline figurine, possibly representing a panther or lioness.

The feline figure is emblematic of power, ferocity and liminality, qualities often associated with shamanic practices across the steppe. Its presence atop the rattle reinforces the interpretation of such instruments as ritual devices, intended to mediate between human communities and the spirit world.

4. Gernyeszeg: A Kulan-Topped Rattle from Székely Land

The final example differs from the others in both geography and chronology. Discovered as a stray find in the early 1890s near Gernyeszeg (Gornești) in Székely Land, this bronze openwork rattle marks one of the easternmost Scythian ritual bronzes in the Carpathian Basin.

Stylistically dated to the early 5th century BC, the rattle is distinguished by its triangular perforations arranged in symmetrical fields and by the figurine of an ungulate, possibly a kulan, mounted at the top. As one of the latest surviving Scythian-type ceremonial finials in the region, it bridges local Carpathian practice with broader steppe traditions.

The object attracted early international scholarly attention. A replica was made for study at the Harvard Art Museums, where it was initially described as a “rattle of a canopy of a cart” - reflecting an earlier interpretation that such artefacts served as wagon fittings.

Notably, the Gernyeszeg piece shows striking parallels with two kulan-topped rattles excavated from Kurgan 8 at Novozavedennoe in the Kuban region of the North Caucasus, dated to the 7th century BC. While two centuries older and marked by different perforation styles (elongated teardrop motifs instead of triangles), they reflect the same underlying iconographic and ritual tradition.

Whether crafted locally or obtained through long-distance exchange, the Gernyeszeg rattle testifies to the enduring connections between the Eurasian steppe and the Carpathian Basin, preserving both the symbolism of the animal figure and the acoustic resonance central to Scythian ritual culture.

A short video overview of these artefacts, featuring images and reconstructions, has also been prepared; readers interested in a more visual introduction to the topic may view it here:

Whether cast in the shape of deer, bulls or felines, these rattles speak across millennia with the same resonance they once produced in ritual. They remind us that sound, symbolism and belief were inseparable in Scythian life, echoing through the Carpathian Basin as part of a steppe-wide cultural language.