Iraq Museum Research Articles

Revealing ancient technology: a high-energy X-ray computed tomography examination of a Mesopotamian copper alloy head

Although the origins of lost wax casting extend back into the 5th millennium BCE, it was not until the development of hollow core casting that life-sized metal sculptures could be produced. Based on existing evidence, the earliest adoption of this technique, which involves the inclusion of a clay core within a wax model, occurred in Iraq (Mesopotamia) during the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2600–2350 BCE). To date, only one hollow core casting from the succeeding Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2150 BCE)—the Sargon Head in the collection of the Iraq Museum—has been studied from a technical point of view. The recent attribution of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Head of a ruler to this formative period of hollow core lost wax casting provided the impetus for its examination by high-energy X-ray computed tomography—the most practical technique for an object that is continuously on display that could image in 3D the interior morphology of this sculpture given the considerable thickness of its metal walls. This scan revealed a markedly different style of production than the Sargon Head. Although further research on early castings is required to determine the chronological implications of the differences observed and to elucidate more generally the early development of hollow casting technology, the scan of the Head of a ruler provides evidence of some of the challenges encountered and problem-solving strategies used in the casting process.

Three Cylinder Seals Preserved in Iraq Museum "A Comparative Analytical Study and Publication for the First Time"

Three Cylinder Seals Preserved in Iraq Museum "A Comparative Analytical Study and Publication for the First Time"

THE TOWER OF BABYLON STELE FOUND IN BABYLON

In the early 1990s the two fragments of black stone making up the Tower of Babylon stele with pictures of the ziggurat in Babylon and the king Nebuchadnezzar II were found in the large open trench from the German excavations of Amran in 1900. The findspot was about 20 m north of the Esagil temple in Babylon, but the level where it was discovered is not Neo-Babylonian but later, possibly Parthian. The archaeological and historical background of the stele is discussed, and the image of the Ziggurat on the stele is considered. After 28 years in the Schøyen Collection Oslo, the stele is now in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

Remarks on a New Aramaic Incantation Bowl IM 77781

Abstract This article presents the edito princeps of a formerly unpublished incantation bowl written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The text consists of fifteen lines and is devoted to protecting the client, his wife and his daughter against the curses of enemies and opponents. The bowl is a gift of Mr. Ismā'īl Nāyf and is part of a collection housed in the Iraq Museum (IM 77781).

Morphological study for Accipitrid birds (Accipitridforms, Accipitridae) in Iraq

The current study revealed to six species of four genus belong to family Accipitridae, Order Accipitriforms; about 24 specimens of birds are deposited in the vertebrates departments in "the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum INHM" were reviewed. Morphometrics of six species of mummified Accipitrid birds as follow: Sparrow-Hawk Accipiter nisus (Linnaeus, 1758), Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax (Temminck, 1828), Greater spotted eagle Aquila clanga (Pallas, 1811), long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus (Cretzschmar, 1825), Steppe Buzzard Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758), and Short toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus (Gmelin, 1788), were reviewed. Global conservation status and the distribution ranges of each species throughout Iraq were discussed.

Unpublished Economic Akkadian Texts In The Iraq Museum

The cuneiform texts of the Akkadian period show a number of developmentsIn economic affairs, including the expansion of agricultural land and the diversity of agricultural crops This is because of the fertile and plentiful pastures in the region as well as the development of methods , This has helped to increase the surplus of agricultural production and the devlopment of industrial crafts and Increasing interest in raising animals and their products and achieving surplus production for commercial purposes as well on the expansion of trade exchanges as a result of large military conquests. The reserach consists of the photocopies of these cuneiform texts with their original photos followed by a bibliography of Arabic and English soueces and an abstract in English.

Two New Cuneiform Texts from Iri-Sağrig Including Akkadian Formulas

This study concerns two unpublished confiscated cuneiform texts kept in the Iraq Museum belong to Ur III period (2112 – 2002) B.C.E. (IM. 235570); (IM.235558 ). Although, the texts belong to Ur III period, they contain Akkadian formulas. The subject of these texts is an oath in the name of the king by herdsmen of bulls and donkeys.

A New Text from Ur III dynasty on Ba’aga, the fattener

Abstract:
 This Text is one of the new confiscated texts kept in the Iraq Museum of (IM.235869) its measurement (12,7 x 6 x 2,5 cm.) which contains barley delivery, dated to Ur III dynasty (2012-2004 B.C) and the date formulae on this text belongs the (3th) year of the reign of king Ibbī-Suen (2028-2004 B.C),the main figure mentioned in this text is (Ba´aga fattener) from Iri-sag̃rig,and comparing it with the published cuneiform texts that belong to his archive they are (196) texts including his activities from AS7 to IS3.

Akkadian Formulas in a New Cuneiform Text from Ur III Period Kept in the Iraqi Museum

This is a study of confiscated text by Iraq Museum (IM.235545).It is a grazing contract of three shepherds , to care for young bulls and donkeys ;which depend on milk and fodder in feeding and need good care by the shepherds to prevent their death. This text belongs to the second year of the reign of the Sumerian king Abi-Suen (2028-2002) B.C. It is a unique text because it belongs to Ur III period but it contains several Akkadian verbal formulaes and it probably belongs to the Sumerian city Iri-saĝrig.

Unpublished Cuneiform Texts from Ur III Period about Animals

The archaeological sites in Iraq was exposed to illegal digging and looting which resulted in the extraction of large numbers of cuneiform texts and smuggling them abroad including Iri-sag̃ rig texts .The scholar (David I. Owen) had studied collection of texts amounted (1159) text in (Nisaba 15) volume .In this research, we studied (4) economic texts confiscated by Iraq Museum concerning animals and were dated in the 42 year of Šulgi to the 2 year of Ibī-suen reign ,the texts dated back to (Iri-sag̃ rigki ).

A Sargonic Learner’s Tablet with an Invocation of the Goddess Nisaba

This paper derives from the study of confiscated texts in the Iraq Museum. Here we publish an Umma tablet with the accession number IM 205090, a square school text with three columns on one side and a single one on the other that lists the distribution of very large quantities of silver to various people; it concludes with an invocation to the goddess Nisaba by the learner, who describes himself as an apprentice scribe.

Tuṭṭanabšum: Princess, Priestess, Goddess

Abstract Tuṭṭanabšum, daughter of Naram-Suen, was one of the most powerful women of the Akkadian dynasty. The princess was installed as the high priestess of Enlil at Nippur; she held one of the highest cultic positions for the head of the Sumerian pantheon, in a city whose temple served as the religious capital of Sumer. Now, an administrative tablet from the Iraq Museum shows that Tuṭṭanabšum, like her father, was also elevated to the realm of the divine. Never before has there been evidence that a member of the Akkadian royal family other than the king was given divine status. The tablet demonstrates that the divinity adopted by Naram-Suen after his victory in the Great Rebellion applied not only to the king, but to other members of the royal family. Tuṭṭanabšum, therefore, was not only a member of the royal house and one of the highest cultic officials in the empire, but was also elevated to the divine realm.

UTUKKŪ LEMNŪTU(UDUG-HUL) IN A NEW TEXT FROM THE IRAQ MUSEUM

A small tablet fragment acquired by the Iraq Museum raises interesting questions, although at first it appeared to be a simple duplicate manuscript from the large bilingual incantation series Udug-hul. Publishing this fragment has drawn attention to an interesting feature of Mesopotamian incantations, in which theāšipu-exorcist protects himself first, before addressing the patient. Although this practice has been known from Tablet 3 of Udug-hul incantations, it turns out that Assur exorcists occasionally inserted their own names into otherwise anonymous incantations and prayers, in order to ensure their own protection, which is a practice not known from other sites.

TWO OLD BABYLONIAN MARRIAGE CONTRACTS FROM ISIN

Our study establishes that two tablets from the Iraq Museum are marriage contracts dating to the Old Babylonian period and in particular from the city of Isin. The dating formula of IM 201688 refers to a hitherto unpublished year name for Erra-imittī, who became king of Isin in 1868 BC. The event concerns the making of four large copper lions as a votive offering. This might have been done in preparation for a military campaign in connection with the rivalry between Isin and Larsa. The dating formula of IM 183636 is completely damaged. However, the text includes a witness described as a citizen of Isin. These two tablets are a very useful addition to the limited number of published OB marriage contracts and especially those from Isin. The tablets were written using formulaic legal expressions in Sumerian throughout with the exception of proper names. Both texts show a remarkably equal treatment of the two spouses in matters relating to compensation in the event of divorce.

The Spatial Analysis for Bassia eriophora (Schrad.) Asch. Plant Distributed in all IRAQ by Using RS & GIS Techniques

Most vegetation’s are Land cover (LC) for the globe, and there is an increased attention to plants since they represent an element of balance to natural ecology and maintain the natural balance of rapid changes due to systematic and random human uses, including the subject of the current study (Bassia eriophora ) Which represent an essential part of the United Nations system for land cover classification (LCCS), developed by the World Food Organization (FAO) and the world Organization for environmental program (UNEP), to observe basic environmental elements with modern techniques. Although this plant is distributed all over Iraq, we found that this plant exists primarily in the middle and southern parts of Iraq in wet areas and near rivers or catchment area or water basins. The main idea is how to use this techniques to monitor the distribution of the plants (Bassia eriophora), in order to utilize and take provisions of plant growth and diffusion, Moreover, know and control the breadth of these areas in Iraq and prepare for them, and understanding climates and the variable plantation habitats and mapping patterns, may lead to a successful environmental protection and dominance plan. In this study, monitoring the distribution of Bassia eriophora in Iraq by apply remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. The data was obtained from (BAG) National Herbarium of Iraq, Ministry of Agriculture. (BUNH) Iraq Natural History Research Centre and Museum, University of Baghdad the University Herbarium (BUH) in College of Science at University of Baghdad. This data contains only the address (place of germination), this information (addresses) was detected, identified and covered for all areas sampled by the techniques of satellite imagery and images taken from the air and some data records where the main features of these areas.

New Texts from the Iraq Museum on Šulgi-mudaḫ and Šara-dān

Abstract Publication of 18 Ur III texts from the confiscated texts in the Iraq Museum which pertain to two dossiers, centering on the individuals Šulgi-mudaḫ and Šara-dān.

A Double Date Formula of the Old Akkadian King Manishtusu

This article provides a preliminary edition of an unprovenienced Old Akkadian tablet located in the Iraq Museum that must have originated in Umma or its environs. This account of equids is unique in that it is the first “mu-iti” type that carries a year name; this is also the first known such year name from the reign of Manishtusu, the third ruler of the Sargonic dynasty of the late third millennium BCE.

English

The aim of this study is to survey and make to revision the genera and species of Chloropidae fauna of Iraq. The investigation showed four species belonging four genera, which belongs to two subfamilies, and one unidentified species belonging to the genus Elachiptera Maquart, The specimens were compared with stored insects at Department of Entomology and invertebrates, Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum.

IM 160096 : un charme pour calmer un bébé qui pleure

Abstract This paper presents a new Akkadian text from the Iraq Museum with a magico-poetic formula to calm a crying baby.

Unpublished Rental Contracts Form the Ear of Babylon King Samso _ Ilona Form the City of Bekasi

This article deals with four Old Babyloian cuneiform texts unearthed at Tell Abu_Enteek ( ancient Pekasi ) during the Iraqi Expedition carried out on the last few years. These texts dated to the reign of Samsi _ Iluna son of Hammurabi, king of Babylon ( 1749_ 1712 B.C ) .Now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad.