Editing Ur (section)

== Society and culture ==
Archaeological discoveries have shown unequivocally that Ur was a major [[Sumer]]ian urban center on the Mesopotamian plain. Especially the discovery of the [[Royal Cemetery at Ur#Graves|Royal Tombs]] has confirmed its splendour. These tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (approximately in the 25th or 24th century BC), contained an immense treasure of luxury items made of precious metals and semi-precious stones imported from long distances ([[Ancient Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[India]], [[Asia Minor]], the [[Levant]] and the [[Persian Gulf]]).<ref name="Zettler, R.L 1998"/> This wealth, unparalleled up to then, is a testimony of Ur's economic importance during the Early [[Bronze Age]].<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Aruz |editor-first=J. |year=2003 |url=http://cdm16028.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/189351 |title=Art of the First Cities. The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |publisher=The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |location=[[New York City|New York]], the [[United States|U.S.A.]]}}</ref>

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Lizard-headed nude woman nursing a child, from Ur, Iraq, c. 4000 BCE. Iraq Museum (retouched).jpg
| caption1 = Lizard-headed nude woman nursing a child, from Ur, [[Ubaid period]], c. 4500–4000 BC; [[Iraq Museum]]
| image2 = King Ur-Nammu.jpg
| caption2 = Enthroned King [[Ur-Nammu]] (c. 2047–2030 BC)
}}
Excavation in the old city of Ur in 1929 revealed the [[Lyres of Ur]], instruments similar to the modern harp but in the shape of a bull and with eleven strings.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Galpin |first1=F. W. |title=The Sumerian Harp of Ur, c. 3500 B. C. |journal=Music & Letters |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1929 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=108–123 |doi=10.1093/ml/X.2.108 |jstor=726035  |issn=0027-4224}}</ref>

{{multiple image |align=left |direction=vertical |header=Standard of Ur mosaic (c. 2600 BC) |total_width=235
|image1=Standard of Ur - peace side.jpg
|image2=Standard of Ur - War.jpg
|footer=The [[Standard of Ur]] mosaic, from the royal tombs of Ur, is made of red limestone, bitumen, [[lapis lazuli]], and shell. The "peace" side shows comfort, music, and prosperity. The "war" side shows the king, his armies, and chariots trampling on enemies.
}}