Funerary headdress from ‘The Great Death Pit’ at Ur

Royal funerals in Mesopotamia were public spectacles involving music, performance and feasting events that took place over several weeks. They marked the transition to the afterlife and reaffirmed traditional power structures in early cities.

This funerary headdress was found on the body of a female court attendant. It is made from two strands of lapis-lazuli beads from Afghanistan and carnelian beads from northwest India. The leaf-shaped pendants are made from imported gold. Ur was a large urban centre located near the Persian Gulf that controlled the trade in exotic goods.