The Defeat of the City State of Ur by the Rulers of Akkad
77
came to power in about 2150 bc. A number of isolated artefacts date from this time, and have already been described, like the headless statue of Enmetena of Lagash. In addition, a strange square stone plaque with a square hole in the centre is perhaps a little earlier and may be contemporaneous with the royal graves. It is divided into two registers: the top one shows a naked man pouring a libation in front of a seated god. He has a curious sack-like object thrown over one shoulder and behind him are standing three women, the middle one being taller than the others, usually a sign of higher status. All three wear curious hats of a style that later becomes the prerogative of the high priestess of Nannar/Sin, the patron god of Ur. The second register again shows a libation being performed by a nude male, but this time he stands in front of a temple façade. Behind him, facing us, is a female figure like those in the top register, while behind her is a man carrying a kid or a lamb, presumably as an offering. The third figure is another female, in profile, wearing what looks like normal dress. Plaques like this are frequently associated with land transfers or sales, and were attached to temple walls. Perhaps – very speculatively – the couple in the bottom register have made a gift of property to the temple served by the priestesses. The interest of the Sargonid kings in Ur is demonstrated by a number of inscribed fragments from bowls and other votive objects found carefully buried below the floor of the so-called treasury – the E-nun-mah (see Chapter 7) were apparently considered too holy and too precious to be thrown away, even in their broken state. One of the most interesting of the finds from this poorly understood period is an alabaster disc found in the ruins of the Giparu, now known as the Enheduanna disc (Fig. 6.iii). This is a roughly circular disc with a scene in relief on one side and an inscription on the other: both were in very poor condition. The inscription mentions the name of Enheduanna, high priestess of Nannar/Sin, who had been appointed by her father, Sargon of Agade. Having a close member of your family as high priest must have been an excellent way of flattering a conquered city and of ensuring that the priesthood, at least, was loyal to you. The temple was also – to judge from the tablets found in the archives from other similar temples – a major economic force, with large tracts of land and ‘factories’ for the manufacture of textiles, so that it was undoubtedly useful to have these resources, too, under the (indirect) control of the king. The relief has been heavily and imaginatively restored, and much of the detail is speculative. The scene shows the high priestess, Enheduanna, preceded by a naked man, probably a priest, who pours a libation from a spouted vase, before what has been reconstructed as a ziggurat with four stages. Since it is more usual