Ur-Namma Foundation Statuette
This is a painting of a statuette that was buried in antiquity (c. 2111-2095 BC) as part of a foundation deposit under the Ekur of Enlil in Nippur. A foundation deposit is an item or a collection of items that is intentionally placed in the ground before the work of a building project takes place. These objects communicate information about the human rulers who commissioned building projects and about the gods to whom the buildings were dedicated. After they were deposited, these objects would no longer be visible to human eyes, and their intended audience was that of the gods and of future rulers who might uncover them during rebuilding projects.
In this case, the bronze figurine depicts the ruler Ur-Namma, the founder of the Ur III Dynasty, as a builder king carrying a basket of clay upon his head. Sometimes this object is referred to as a foundation “peg” or “nail”. Although it does not look like a peg, it is referred to as such because it is part of a larger tradition of crafting and depositing pegs at the start of building projects.
This statuette has the collection number A30553 is on display in the Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute in Chicago along with the other items that were found with it in the foundation deposit.
This is a painting of a statuette that was buried in antiquity (c. 2111-2095 BC) as part of a foundation deposit under the Ekur of Enlil in Nippur. A foundation deposit is an item or a collection of items that is intentionally placed in the ground before the work of a building project takes place. These objects communicate information about the human rulers who commissioned building projects and about the gods to whom the buildings were dedicated. After they were deposited, these objects would no longer be visible to human eyes, and their intended audience was that of the gods and of future rulers who might uncover them during rebuilding projects.
In this case, the bronze figurine depicts the ruler Ur-Namma, the founder of the Ur III Dynasty, as a builder king carrying a basket of clay upon his head. Sometimes this object is referred to as a foundation “peg” or “nail”. Although it does not look like a peg, it is referred to as such because it is part of a larger tradition of crafting and depositing pegs at the start of building projects.
This statuette has the collection number A30553 is on display in the Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute in Chicago along with the other items that were found with it in the foundation deposit.
This is a painting of a statuette that was buried in antiquity (c. 2111-2095 BC) as part of a foundation deposit under the Ekur of Enlil in Nippur. A foundation deposit is an item or a collection of items that is intentionally placed in the ground before the work of a building project takes place. These objects communicate information about the human rulers who commissioned building projects and about the gods to whom the buildings were dedicated. After they were deposited, these objects would no longer be visible to human eyes, and their intended audience was that of the gods and of future rulers who might uncover them during rebuilding projects.
In this case, the bronze figurine depicts the ruler Ur-Namma, the founder of the Ur III Dynasty, as a builder king carrying a basket of clay upon his head. Sometimes this object is referred to as a foundation “peg” or “nail”. Although it does not look like a peg, it is referred to as such because it is part of a larger tradition of crafting and depositing pegs at the start of building projects.
This statuette has the collection number A30553 is on display in the Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute in Chicago along with the other items that were found with it in the foundation deposit.