Queen Puabi's headdress
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Queen Puabi's headdress is a 2600-2450 BCE Mesopotamian crown consisting of ornate gold leaf wreaths, strands of lapis lazuli and carnelian beads, with a gold comb, and delicate hair ribbons.[1] The entirety of the headdress is estimated to weigh over 6 pounds.[2] The headdress was discovered resting on Queen Puabi's remains in PG 800 during the excavation of the Royal Cemetery at Ur that began in 1922 and concluded in 1934.[3][1] Successive Mesopotamian societies built new cities on top of previous civilizations and commonly created tells (multilayer man-made mounds) to preserve human remains.[4] These younger tells (built on top of Queen Puabi's grave) hid and protected her immense riches by making them inaccessible to looters.[4] Found next to Queen Puabi's remains was a cylinder (identification) seal with the title "nin" inscribed, indicating a great lady or queen.[5] In the grave, excavators also found the remnants of female attendants –– adorned in similar jewelry and hair ribbons –– whose purpose was to serve the queen in her afterlife.[6] The religious significance of Queen Puabi's headdress demonstrates her royal status as well as her cultic importance.[7] The unearthing of Ur was led by Charles Leonard Woolley and was a joint expedition sponsored by the Penn Museum and the British Museum.[4] The headdress currently resides in the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. The excavation is still very popular because of the riches discovered, the uncovering of a mass grave, and the potential connection with Abraham from the book of Genesis. [4]