All  

Iraq Banner Desktop

Store Banner Mobile

Mesopotamian Artifacts

Welcome to our exploration of Mesopotamian artifacts, where we delve into the rich archaeological discoveries and ancient treasures that offer a glimpse into the material culture and artistic achievements of the people of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, has left behind a vast array of artifacts that bear witness to the remarkable craftsmanship and cultural legacy of this ancient civilization.

In this section of our website, we invite you to embark on a journey through the world of Mesopotamian artifacts, where each article unveils a different piece of the archaeological puzzle. From intricate sculptures and stunning jewelry to meticulously inscribed clay tablets and decorated pottery, these artifacts tell stories of ancient beliefs, societal practices, and the technological advancements of Mesopotamian civilization.

The Cyrus Cylinder. Source: Prioryman/CC BY-SA 3.0
13 May, 2024 - 17:55 dhwty

The Cyrus Cylinder and the Ancient Proclamation of Human Rights

More than 2 millennia before the French Revolution introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens , an ancient Near Eastern monarch issued a charter that is considered to be the...
The Mesopotamian military represented here used weapons of war to achieve great success. Source: WILD HARE/Adobe Stock
3 January, 2024 - 16:57 Aleksa Vučković

Mesopotamian Military Mastery - The Ancient Reinvention of Warfare

Creating a great empire in ancient times was no simple task, and it usually involved a lot of warfare. Ancient Mesopotamia, called by many the cradle of civilization, was also the cradle of organized...
Sulimaniya brick B318, part of the collection holding the signature of the geomagnetic anomaly. Source: MIT License
19 December, 2023 - 13:55 Sahir

Ancient Mesopotamian Bricks Record 3,000-Year-Old Geomagnetic Anomaly

A geomagnetic anomaly that occurred between 3,000 and 2,500 years ago has shed light on ancient Mesopotamia in a way that has never been explored before. Analysis of ancient bricks from Mesopotamia,...
Ernst Stötzner during scanning a cuneiform tablet in order to decipher the text. Source: Maike Glöckner/Uni Halle
3 December, 2023 - 13:56 ancient origins

Ancient Cuneiform Tablets Instantly Deciphered By Revolutionary Methods

New artificial intelligence software is now able to decipher difficult-to-read texts on cuneiform tablets, almost in an instant. Instead of photos, the AI system uses 3D models of the tablets,...
One of the Ram in a Thicket statues. Source: British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
12 November, 2023 - 21:54 Aleksa Vučković

Ram in a Thicket: A Mesopotamian Legacy from the Ancient City of Ur

The treasures of ancient cultures are a source of never ending inspiration. It is such a wonder to see the magnificence of the art that was created in the dawn of civilization, so long before our...
Mesopotamian clay balls have been unearthed in Iran. Source: Fair use
7 November, 2023 - 14:00 Joanna Gillan

Mesopotamian Clay Balls: Ancient Relics or Prehistoric Hard Drives?

Research conducted in late 2013 offered intriguing clues to decoding the secrets of the Mesopotamian clay balls, which date back 5,500 years. The study, which used CT scanning to look inside the clay...
The Great Flood. Source: Faith Stock/Adobe Stock
17 October, 2023 - 15:04 Joanna Gillan

How Sumerian Tablets Told the Story of The Great Flood

The world's first known flood myth can be traced back to the Sumerians around 2000 BC. Sumerian tablets recount captivating tales of human beginnings, the creation of mankind, and the profound...
The Taylor Prism was discovered in 1830 at Nineveh and is currently housed at the British Museum in London. It tells the story of King Sennacherib’s third campaign and his conquests in Judah. Source: Public domain
4 September, 2023 - 14:53 Aleksa Vučković

Sennacherib's Prisms Reveal the Glorious Reign of an Assyrian King

Imagine if all of the world’s ancient cultures and civilizations had had well-developed writing systems. Then envision the marvels we would know about today, the hidden secrets and remarkable tales...
Aerial view of the structure at Tel Shimron supporting the passageway to the corbelled vault. Credit: Eyecon. Source: Eyecon
23 August, 2023 - 22:55 Nathan Falde

Israel's Tel Shimron Excavations Reveal Ancient Architectural Marvel Dating to 1,800 BC

Archaeologists participating in the ongoing Tel Shimron excavations in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel recently unearthed the first section of an arched, vaulted passageway with steps that they...
Ancient Mesopotamia Amulet
15 November, 2013 - 01:01 johnblack

Ancient Mesopotamian Amulet found in Oman

An ancient amulet inscribed with cuneiform writing and dating back to the Mesopotamian civilization has been found during excavations in Dibbia, Musandam in Oman. It has been reported in the times of...
Ubaid Lizardmen Source: CC by SA 4.0
26 February, 2022 - 21:59 johnblack

Ancient Reptilians: The Unanswered Mystery of the 7,000-Year-Old Ubaid Lizardmen

It is a commonly accepted view in mainstream archaeology that civilization started in ancient Mesopotamia with the great civilization of Sumer in what is now modern-day Iraq. However, at the...
Representation of an ancient Egyptian chariot.
28 May, 2017 - 02:00 David Waters

The Untold History of The Wheel And Its Evolution

The wheel can be considered mankind’s most important invention, the utility of which is still applied in multiple spheres of our daily life. While most other inventions have been derived from nature...
The oldest known signed Sumerian tablet that was recently auctioned for a fortune in England. Source: Bloomsbury Auctions
18 August, 2020 - 18:51 Ed Whelan

Ancient Sumerian Tablet with ‘First Signature’ Sells for a Fortune

A signed Sumerian tablet that is over 5000 years old, from ancient Mesopotamia , has been sold at auction. This extremely historic artifact is believed to have one of the first-ever signatures and...
Cuneiform tablet from Van fortress, Turkey Source: Konstantin / Adobe Stock
21 September, 2021 - 14:49 ashley cowie

AI Model Is Solving 4,500-Year-Old Cuneiform Translation Mysteries

Archaeologists just got infinitely smarter. AI is now successfully predicting lost passages of ancient texts, meaning 4,500-year-old cuneiform tablets, with missing sections, can now read. A deep-...
Left: Front angle of the reconstructed Bull Headed Lyre found in the Sumerian Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia, c. 2500 BC. Source: Penn Museum
13 January, 2020 - 23:00 Niels Bjerre Jo...

Satire in Mesopotamia: Unravelling the Bull Headed Lyre of Ur

Many of us tend to think that the people of early cultures were less sophisticated than us. The wealthiest people may have lived lives of luxury with gold and slaves, but admittedly we cannot really...
Ancient Mesopotamian boat unearthed near Uruk. Source: Julia Nador - Deutsches Archäologisches Institut / CC-BY-NC-ND
8 April, 2022 - 14:58 Cecilia Bogaard

4,000-Year-Old Mesopotamian Boat Near Uruk Rescued

4,000 years ago, a boat sank onto the bed of a channel of the Euphrates River, near the ancient city of Uruk. Now, archaeologists working in modern-day southern Iraq have been forced to conduct an...
Photo of Zecharia Sitchin (left)(CC0)Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, and Enki, three members of the Anunnaki.(right)
15 January, 2018 - 18:44 Jason Jarrell

Zecharia Sitchin and the Mistranslation of Sumerian Texts

In a previous 2-part article (1), the authors wrote about the faulty associations of the Sumerian deities known as the Anunnaki as they are portrayed in the books, television series, and other media...
Assyrian Stele - Ancient Curse
29 March, 2014 - 02:57 aprilholloway

Assyrian stele containing ancient curse will not be reunited with its other half

Whoever discards this image from the presence of Salmanu puts it into another place, whether he throws it into water or covers it with earth or brings and places it into a taboo house where it is...
Great Death pit of Ur
30 June, 2018 - 17:32 dhwty

The Great Death Pit of Ur: Mass Human Sacrifice in Ancient Mesopotamia

During Sir Charles Leonard Woolley’s excavation of Ur from 1922 to 1934, any burial without a tomb chamber was given the name ‘death pit’ (known also as ‘grave pits’). Arguably the most impressive...
From the royal tombs of Ur, the Standard of Ur mosaic, made of lapis lazuli and shell, shows peacetime.
3 August, 2018 - 13:57 dhwty

A Functional and Fertile Crescent: Technological Advancements in the Cradle of Civilization

The Fertile Crescent is the name given to the arc-shaped area of land that stretched across the Middle East from the northern end of the Gulf in the East to the Nile Valley in the West. It was here...
Instructions of Shuruppak: 4,600 Years Ago, A Sumerian King Instructed His Son on How to Behave
4 January, 2017 - 03:51 dhwty

Instructions of Shuruppak: 4,600 Years Ago, A Sumerian King Instructed His Son on How to Behave

The Instructions of Shuruppak are a set of 4,600-year-old Sumerian proverbs given by a king to his son, which essentially set out how he should behave. The ancient inscriptions were engraved in...
Reconstruction of Noah's Ark
27 January, 2014 - 02:55 aprilholloway

Noah’s Ark to be reconstructed following instructions on ancient Babylonian tablet

Work has begun on a full-scale reproduction of Noah’s Ark according to an ancient manual written on clay tablet dating back 3,700 years. The reconstruction will form the basis of a new television...
The statue of Ebih-Il in prayer in the Louvre, Paris. Source: Left; Louvre Museum/CC BY-SA 2.0, Right; Public Domain
27 April, 2023 - 18:59 Aleksa Vučković

The Exquisite Statue of Ebih-Il, an Important Heirloom of Ancient Mari

The ancient realm of Mesopotamia is still very much clouded in enigma. It existed so far back in time, that our knowledge about its cities and civilizations will never be 100% clear. Still,...
Detail of a man depicted on an Uruk vase, Pergamon Museum. The Uruk civilization arose as it expertly adapted to the new climate.
19 October, 2017 - 18:56 Rob Mcroberts

Rising to the Challenge: Innovative Civilizations Advanced Through Climate Change

Beginning around 90,000 years ago, during an interglacial period, Anatomically Modern Humans were able to take advantage of the favorable climatic conditions and migrate throughout Africa and into...

Pages