Standard of Ur

The Standard of Ur comes from the ancient city of Ur (located in modern-day Iraq south of Baghdad). It is approximately 4,500 years old and was probably constructed in the form of a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace represented on each side through elaborately inlaid mosaics. Although interpreted as a standard by its discoverer, its original purpose remains enigmatic. It was found in a royal tomb in Ur in the 1920s next to the skeleton of a ritually sacrificed man who may have been its bearer. It is now on display, in a reconstructed form, in the British Museum in London.

Standard of Ur

The Standard of Ur comes from the ancient city of Ur (located in modern-day Iraq south of Baghdad). It is approximately 4,500 years old and was probably constructed in the form of a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace represented on each side through elaborately inlaid mosaics. Although interpreted as a standard by its discoverer, its original purpose remains enigmatic. It was found in a royal tomb in Ur in the 1920s next to the skeleton of a ritually sacrificed man who may have been its bearer. It is now on display, in a reconstructed form, in the British Museum in London.