The royal tombs of Ur revealed Mesopotamia's golden splendor

Leonard Woolley’s excavation of Ur yielded an archaeologist’s dream: a series of intact burials from one of the world's most important ancient cities.

Dating from 2600-2300 B.C., a decorative bull's head of gold and lapis lazuli adorns a lyre discovered in the tomb of Queen Puabi in Ur.
Photograph courtesy of Penn Museum
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