Circa 2600-2500 B.C.E.
Elite Woman Of Ur

Unknown Role. One of the elite individuals buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur (circa 2600-2500 B.C.E.) was a slight woman, just under five feet tall, who was about forty years old at the time of her death. Her name, Pu-abi, is inscribed on a lapis-lazuli cylinder seal found near her body. No other inscriptions were found in the tombs. It has been suggested recently that she may have been the second wife of king Meskalamdug of Ur, who may have been buried in the adjacent tomb.

Elaborate Burial. Pu-abi's intact burial was discovered in 1928 by Sir Leonard Woolley. She was buried in a multi-chambered tomb that included gold and silver plates and cups, elaborate jewelry, full-size chariots with donkeys, and the bodies of many human attendants, including women outfitted as musicians and men equipped as...