2600–2500 B.C.; Sumerian
Excavated at "Tomb of Pu-Abi," Royal Tombs of Ur, Mesopotamia
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Headdress of the Lady Puabi
c. 2650-2550 B.C. - Made of gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

This headdress has gold leaves separated by lapis lazuli and carnelian beads. It was found on the forehead of one of the female attendants in the tomb. The other attendants wore necklaces of gold and lapis lazuli, gold hair ribbons, and silver hair rings. Gold, silver, lapis, and carnelian were not natural to Mesopotamia. This is indicative of the wealth of Sumeria and that a sophisticated system of trade extended far beyond the river valley.

Pu-Abi, the principal occupant of the tomb, lay on a wooden bier, wearing an elaborate headdress. 25 attendants, laid out in rows were buried with her, along with oxen which had been harnessed to vehicles. The attendants may have voluntarily taken poison and were buried while unconscious or dead.

Sumerian Headress
Royal Tombs of Ur

Epic of Gilgamesh

The Flood Myth

Mesopotamia

The Sumerians Exhibit

Ancient Near East