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Human sacrifice and intentional corpse preservation in the Royal Cemetery of Ur

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Aubrey Baadsgaard ,
Janet Monge ,
Samantha Cox  and
Richard L. Zettler
Aubrey Baadsgaard*
Affiliation:
Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA
Janet Monge
Affiliation:
Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA
Samantha Cox
Affiliation:
Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA
Richard L. Zettler
Affiliation:
Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA
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Extract

The Royal Tombs at Ur have been long famous for their chilling scenario of young soldiers and courtesans who loyally took poison to die with their mistress. The authors investigate two of the original skulls with CT scans and propose a procedure no less chilling, but more enforceable. The victims were participants in an elaborate funerary ritual during which they were felled with a sharp instrument, heated, embalmed with mercury, dressed and laid ceremonially in rows.

Keywords

IraqUrBronze Ageburial ritesinhumationcremationritualhuman sacrifice

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Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 327 , March 2011 , pp. 27 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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