III.

Early Dynastic Period

The first historical epoch of Sumerian dominance extended from about 3000 bc until about 2340 bc. While earlier architectural traditions continued, a new type of building was introduced; this was the temple oval, an enclosure with a central platform supporting a shrine. City states centring on such cities as Ur, Umma, Lagash (modern Al-Hiba), Kish, and Eshnunna (modern Tall al Asmar) were headed by governors or kings who were not considered divine. Many of the artefacts from this period are commemorative; plaques, frequently depicting banquet scenes, celebrate victories or the completion of a temple. These were often used as boundary stones, as was the limestone stele (Musée du Louvre, Paris) of King Eannatum from Lagash. In two registers on one side of the stele the king is depicted leading his army into battle; on the other side the god Ningirsu, symbolically represented as much larger than a human, holds the net containing the defeated enemy. The Standard of Ur (c. 2700 bc, British Museum, London), a wooden plaque inlaid with shell, schist, lapis lazuli, and pinkish stone, depicts processions and religious scenes arranged in three bands.

Mythological figures are the subjects of finely carved cylinder seals and metal sculpture. In a large copper relief from the temple at Ubaid (c. 2340 bc, British Museum, London), a lion-headed eagle with spread wings hovers over two heraldic stags. Half-man, half-bull images were prominent motifs, as were male heroes fighting with lions. Not all of the mythological beings can be identified. Elegantly crafted objects, such as crowns, daggers, vases, and decorative objects, have also been excavated. Many were found at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (c. 2600 bc) by Sir Leonard Woolley between 1926 and 1931. Two of the most beautiful are a pair of standing goats (University Museum, Philadelphia, and British Museum, London); their forelegs rest against a golden tree that has branches terminating in rosettes. The tree and goats’ heads and legs are covered with beaten gold; their bellies are made of beaten silver, their fleece of shells, and their beards, manes, and horns are carved from lapis lazuli.

Sumerian sculpture, usually of gypsum alabaster, displays a variety of styles, and the geometric forms can be very dramatic; it comprises figures of worshippers, either priests or rulers, a few of them female. Twelve such sculptures were found at the Temple of Abu at Tall al Asmar. These stone sculptures with clasped hands (c. 2750-c. 2600 bc, Iraq Museum; Oriental Institute, Chicago; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) have huge, round staring eyes made of shell and black limestone. A seated alabaster male figure (c. 2400 bc, Musée du Louvre, Paris) from Mari is slightly more realistic. The architecture of Mari (Tell Hariri, Syria) from this period shows influences from areas west of Mesopotamia.