UR OF THE CHALDEES

Hokitika Guardian, 27 October 1928, Page 8

UR OF THE CHALDEES

A BEAUTY OF 5000 YEARS AGO FEMININE VANITIES THAT NEVER CHANGE. Take tip your stand in the Assyrian Basement of the British Museum and gaze for one moment at the wonderful new exhibits 1 from Ur. Five thousand years slip instantly Ifroin beneath your feet; the veil that hid the past is rent; London fades, the babble of the crowd recedes, and there before you stands Queen Sbubnd, her dark hair .wreathed in a glittering head-dress, crowned with a golden comb, her slim i'olm veiled beneath a beaded cloak of parnelian, gold, and lapis lazuli. Thoie lies her gam-ing-board, pathetic souvenir' of waiting hours ;, there, her wardrobe-chest; here, her jewels, her silver drinking-cups. Soft music trembles on the strings of that bull-headed harp, and silverbeaded reins jangle in their rings at each movement of the two white asses harnessed to her chariot by collars of decorated copper. VAST HUMAN SACRIFICES.

Never before can relics so romantic, yet so gruesome and convincing, have been displayed for the public gaze as these fruits of the sixth season’s worjc of the joint expedition organised by the British Museum and the Pennsylvania University Museum. At Ur of the Chaldees myal graves have been unearthed at the great depth of forty feet which date hack to thedourth millennium B.C. The resultant discoveries prove that Sumerian civilisation reached a high standard of culture before that of Egypt and was probably the foundation' of all other NearEastern civilisations. <

The presence of model boats in the tombs shows that Sumerians believed the passage to the next world to .be by water, whilst the presence of gold, lapis lazuli, and asses’ skeletons (all alien to .South Babylonia) indicates that the Sumerians must have had . extensive intercourse by land and water with fardistant regions.

Most .striking of aR is the hitherto msuspected fact that Sumerian royal burials were accompanied by human sacrifice on a vast scale; of that there ■an he no doubt, for the mouldering skeletons; the weapons and the jewel'erv of the victims have now been found on the vein,' spots where they collapsed within the tombs fifty centuries ago.

Beneath the tomb of Queen Shubad vyas found that of a 5 King who as yet remains unidentified. This tomb had been plundered in remote ages, the robbers having broken through the vaulted roof. From the relics which remained, and are now on view, and from the diagrams and pictures specially drawn for the British Museum, it is not difficult to visualise the scene at the King’s burial.

A ROYAL RETINUE. ■j Marshalled Within the outer chamber were the pick of the, army, the Court, and the harem, to minister to their royal master’s wants and pleasure in the world to. come, The entrance-was guarded by six' soldiers in copper helmets and thick felt cloaks, armed with spears, i Next stood two four-wheeled carts'oif wood, each manned by two, attendants and drawn by three oxen, the animal yoked with massive silver collars and ringed through the nostrils. At the far end, nine ladies of the liar--3m in golden .headdresses, richly clad, were grouped against the wall of the inner chamber containing the royal bier, :the.- door of which was guarded by two rows of servants armed with copper daggers. In all, no fewer than fifty-nine human beings and six animals Were packed into this outer chamber. • There they died, that they might ac : company their royal piaster across the water into eternity. How they were killed, none can say, but their bodies have been found where they collapsed, the grooms at the animals’ heads, the soldiers on guard, the ladies and servants nearest their lord. BEAUTIFUL WORKMANSHIP.

The tomb of the Queen was the scene of similar slaughter. Five skeletons Lay at the entrance; doubtless those of the soldiers on guard:. Beside the skulls, of two asses which had drawn tier chariot lay the bones of the grooms Court ladies had fallen in two rows at the far end of the chamber, while by the royal bier two attendants bad fallen at their vigil.

Beautiful' indeed are the many of the objects laid bare within this royal cemetery. Sumerian workmanship attained a very high standard. ; The statue of a beared bull, with horns and mask olf gold and beard of lapis lazuli is particularly striking. The bearded bull had for the Sumerians a Special religious significance, for the beard was the hall-mark of diety. Delicately modelled in silver is the little boat with high prow and stern provided presumably for the journey, ovei the Sumerian Styx; in design it resembles the rowing-boats still to be seen on the Euphrates. Most wonderful of all is the beaten gold helmet, finely chased, found in the grave of Prince Mes-Kalan-Dug.

LITTLE CHANGE IN HUMAN TASTE.

An one examines the relics one realises how little human tastes have changed in five thousand years; jewels beads, bracelets, and other .trinkets were worn much as they are to-day; goblets of gold and silver, vessels of copper and stone, seem but of yesterday ; the mascots affixed to the wagonpoles might have crowned the radiator of a modern ear; and the little gaming boards and pieces seem but variations of our chess and dominoes.

The excavation at Ur are to be continued next year. It may. be that further striking discoveries will be made. Meanwhile, nothing-could give greater delight than a visit to these wonderous relies in our national museum. 4John o’ London’s Weekly.”