Gudea Cone
Clay
Girsu
12 cm x 4.7 cm (top) diam.
A1128
Oriental Institute Museum
Gudea Cone
The cuneiform script, like our own alphabet, was used to write many different languages. The inscription on this cone, written in Sumerian, celebrates the restoration of the temple of the god, Ningirsu, by Gudea, ruler of Lagash. Cones of this type were often placed below the foundations of new or renovated buildings.
Inscription
For Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior, Gudea, ruler of Lagash, made things function as they should (and) he built and restored for him the temple Eninnu, the White Thunderbird.
Collected by
Oriental Exploration Fund, University of Chicago
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1903-1904
Multimedia
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How do artifacts survive over time? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura D'Alessandro tells us how they are cared for in this video.
What is Conservation?
Ever wonder what a conservator does? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura Laura D'Alessandro tells you all about her job in this video.
Suggested Readings
Kramer, Samuel Noah. Cradle of Civilization. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1967.
Leick, Gwendolyn. A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Architecture. London: Routledge, 1988.
Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.