The Royal Tombs of Ur @ the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Note: This gallery will be closed as the exhibit travels. In its stead, the gallery will feature "Tokens to Tablets," an exhibit of ancient Mesopotamian artifacts, including the world's oldest winejar. This is a renowned collection from the Royal Cemetery at Ur (in modern-day Iraq), including a famous gold and lapis lazuli bullheaded lyre and a "Ram in the Thicket" sculpture, as well as Lady Pu-abi's headdress and jewelry, all from ca. 2650-2550 B.C. The story of the excavations at Ur as well as the archaeological and historical context of the finds are displayed, offering insight into this ancient civilization through its Royal Tombs. (Third floor; currently traveling)

Purchase Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur from University Museum Publications

Write like an ancient Babylonian Create your own monogram in cuneiform, right on the screen. Print it and keep it.

Look like an ancient Babylonian order our T-shirt with its tricky riddle written in real cuneiform writing

Check the exciting itinerary for The Royal Tombs of Ur as it travels.

Read about the conservation of the "Ram in the Thicket" and about date sex in Ancient Mesopotamia

Head of a bull and shell plaque from sound box of a lyre, ca. 2650 - 2550 B.C. Gold, lapis lazuli, shell.

"Ram in the Thicket," mid-third millenium B.C. Gold, silver, shell, lapis lazuli, and colored stone. [shown here before its April 1998 restoration]

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