Tombs​—Windows to Ancient Beliefs

IMAGINE yourself thousands of years back in time. You are in Ur, a thriving royal city in Sumer, Babylonia. A large procession of Sumerians has left the city, entered the cemetery, and is now heading down a ramp into the tomb of a recently deceased ruler. The tomb’s walls and floor are lined with mats, and the chamber is adorned with magnificent Sumerian art. Musicians accompany the procession of soldiers, menservants, and women into the tomb. All are radiant in their finery. Officers proudly bear the insignia of their rank. In this colorful throng are manned chariots drawn by oxen or asses, the grooms at the heads of the animals. All take their station, and a religious service is held along with musical accompaniment.

As the religious proceedings conclude, each person​—from musician to servant—​takes the small clay, stone, or metal cup he or she has brought along for the occasion, dips it into a copper pot, and drinks a specially prepared potion. Then all lie down in an orderly arrangement, compose themselves quietly, go to sleep, and die. Someone quickly slaughters the animals. Workers fill in the shaft and seal the tomb. Their god-king, the Sumerians believe, is now riding off gloriously into the next world in his interred chariot, his loyal retainers and soldier guard resplendent in his train.

While working in southern Iraq, archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley uncovered 16 royal tombs in the cemetery of ancient Ur, just like the one described. They were a grisly but remarkable find. “The wealth in these tombs, which remains unparallelled in Mesopotamian archaeology, included some of the most celebrated pieces of Sumerian art that now grace the halls of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum,” says Paul Bahn in his book Tombs, Graves and Mummies.

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Sumerian headdress and jewelry of a female attendant buried in a royal tomb at Ur

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© The British Museum