1. Sumerian Achievements

2. The Arch
This pointed arch made of stone was part of a house at Ur and dates to approximately 2160 BC.

3. City States/Kings
This is the Stele of Naram-Sin, a rounded stone slab depicting King Naram-Sin and his soldiers on the battlefield.

4. Cuneiform This circular tablet was found in Lagash
Cuneiform was used for keeping business records/keeping track of trade. Later it was used for recording Sumerian history.

5. Devotional Statues
This is a statue of a married couple found beneath the floor of a shrine in Nippur.
Used for worship (often figures represented gods/godesses)

6. Game Board
This game board and pieces were used for entertainment and were found at the Royal Cemetery of Ur.

7. Irrigation
These are irrigated fields on the banks of the Euphrates River. Irrigation brought water to their fields so that they could grow crops.

8. Geometry
This clay tablet has geometry exercises and questions written in cuneiform

9. Medicine
The three holes drilled or cut into this skull are a result of a surgical procedure.

10. Metalworking
Three gold cups from Ur belonged to Queen Shubad and may have contained the poison that killed her.

11. Music
This is a lyre found in Ur. Lyre’s are similar to harps and were played at weddings, funerals, and for the gods.

12. Organized Armies
This shows two groups of soldiers in formation behind their leader.

13. Plow
This cylinder seal shows two gods, one with a left hand in the shape of a scorpion and the other plowing behind a dragon and lion. It was used for farming to help move the dirt.

14. Sailboat
This is an example of a type of sailboat created by the Sumerians. The rope is where the sails would have been. The bottom of the boat is made with reeds or sticks. The boat was used for travel along the rivers.

15. Wheel
This is a copper statue of a chariot being pulled by four donkeys. It depicts an early form of the wheel. The wheel was used to transport heavy items by cart. It was also used for pottery.

16. Written Laws
This is a tablet and a copper statue of King Ur-Nammu, found in Nippur. It depicts the laws of the land in cuneiform.
Laws were used to keep order in the city-states.

17. Ziggurat
This is a reconstruction of the ziggurat found at Ur. The original ziggurat was build by King Ur-Nammu and made of mud bricks.

18. Standard of Ur
The Standard of Ur was a flag that the Mesopotamians would wave in honor of their city. They would wave it before war and during celebrations.