21 103 6 B An elegant passenger vehicle drawn by two asses whose harness-gear appropriately sported a donkey mascot. Wooden sledges were well-suited to the muddy plains of Mesopotamia and could carry substantial weights.
25 102 6 C Gold feeding bowl.
24 105 6 D
26 103 6 E This gaming board was in the form of an inlaid box. The gaming pieces were stored inside. The rules of the game are not known but surviving counters imply two players.
22 101 6 F This large chest (7 x 3.5 ft - 2.25 by 1.1 m) was used by the grave robbers to conceal the evidence of their forced entry into the underlying tomb of the king, Puabi's husband. They gained access by digging through the floor of Puabi's grave during its construction. The chest probably contained clothes, now entirely decayed away.
23 101 6 G In the entrance ramp lay the sacrificed bodies of five guards, while within the pit were other sacrificed retainers including ten maid-servants laid in two rows. With them was one of the splendid Sumerian lyres, while many other wonderful objects had been placed elsewhere in the pit.
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60 102 11 A These cockle shells contained green paint and served both for mixing and storing cosmetics. Frequently found in women's graves, they might also contain black, red and white pigments.
15 102 11 B Worn in conjunction with an elaborate padded wig, the queen's headdress was exquisitely fashioned in sheet gold, carnelian and lapis lazuli and surmounted by a flamboyant 'Spanish comb' decorated with golden flowers.
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14 102 11 E A cylinder seal of lapis lazuli. Inscribed 'Puabi nin' (queen), it depicts a banquet. Rolling the cylinder across wet clay produced a continuous impression.
13 101 11 F Three other skeletons were found inside the tomb, probably the personal attendants of the queen, drugged and buried within the tomb to accompany their mistress. They were decked in fine jewellery.
11 102 11 G Many vessels of gold and silver lay around the inside of the tomb, along with offerings of food, silver tables and lamps and many other precious objects.
17 102 11 H The upper part of the queen's body was completely covered with strings of beads made of gold, chalcedony, lapis, carnelian and other precious and semi-precious stones, forming a cloak that reached to her waist. Beside her lay other ornaments and a spare headdress of gold and lapis.
19 101 11 I Some royal burials at Ur were interred in wooden coffins or placed directly on the tomb floor, but Queen Puabi had been laid on a wooden bier.
18 102 11 J A gold cup lay near the queen's hand.
-1 101 1 Z Puabi is believed to have been a queen of Ur about 2600 BC (her name was previously translated as Shubad). The tomb is located in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, near the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu. Precious grave goods were found in the shaft and in the stone-built chamber. Grooms, ladies of the court, guards and a harpist were buried with the queen to attend her in the afterlife.
