QUEENS
TOMBS AT NIMRUD
The
Queens' tombs at Nimrud are a set of four tombs discovered by Muzahim
Hussein at the site of what was once the ancient Assyrian city of
Nimrud. A city once vital to the Neo-Assyrian empire, Nimrud (known
also by its biblical name Calah and its ancient name Kalhu) was
located on the East bank of the Tigris river, in what would be modern
day Northern Iraq. Nimrud became the second capital of the Assyrian
empire during the ninth century BCE, under Assurnasirpal II. Assurnasirpal
II expanded the city and built one of the most significant architectural
achievements at Nimrud, the Northwest Palace––betanu
in Assyrian. The palace was the first of many built by Neo-Assyrian
rulers, and it became a template for later palaces. During an excavation
of the Northwest Palace in 1988, the Queen’s Tombs were discovered
under the Southern, domestic wing. All four tombs discovered within
the palace were built during the ninth and eighth centuries and
were primarily constructed of the mudbrick, baked brick, and limestone
materials commonly used in Mesopotamian architecture. The architecture
of the tombs as well as the Northwest Palace within which they are
housed provide historical insight into the Assyrian Empire’s
building techniques. The most notable items found within the queens’
tombs included hundreds of pieces of fine jewelry, pottery, clothing,
and tablets. These objects crafted by Neo-Assyrian artists would
later allow archaeologists to build on their understanding of Neo-Assyrian
goldsmithing techniques. Each tomb was built in advance of a queen’s
death and construction began as early as the 9th century under Assurnasirpal
II and continued under Shalmaneser III.
Discovery
and excavations :
Northwest Palace :
Excavations at Nimrud began in the 1840s, when explorer Austen Henry
Layard first uncovered the city’s remains. Throughout the
1940s and 50s, British archaeologist Max Mallowan led excavations
of the ancient city, sponsored by the British School of Archaeology
in Iraq. Through his excavations, Mallowan greatly contributed to
mapping the topography of the ancient city. Mallowan’s excavations
included the southern section of the Northwest Palace where, in
1951, he discovered the so-called “Harem Quarters” underneath
room DD. He found an Iron Age, eighth century B.C.E, coffin containing
a woman. Mallowan, however, did not search underneath the baked
brick pavement flooring of the Southern Section of the Palace.
Discovery
of The Queens' tombs :
In the late 1980s the Iraqi Department of Antiquities started excavating
the Northwest palace of King Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud and discovered
four tombs of Neo-Assyrian royal women. In the same general area
Mallowan discovered the burial, Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein and his
team noticed parts of the brick floor in the Southern Section were
sticking up at odd angles. The flooring was removed, which led to
the discovery of Tomb I, the first of a total of four sealed tombs
uncovered by Hussein located within and underneath the Northwest
Palace. The tombs not only housed the bodies of various royal women
of the Neo-Assyrian Empire––identified by inscriptions,
stamps, and adornment, but contained priceless artifacts such as
jewelry, decorations, and ceramics that provided new insight into
Assyrian culture and craftsmanship.
Obstacles
:
Since the discovery, there have been continuous obstacles in the
discernment, recording and preservation of data and information
from the Queens’ Tombs. Some of the difficulties were due
to the age of the find. The burials were disturbed and looted in
antiquity, so the original dress and arrangement of bodies and objects
is lost. For example, in Tomb II, a second queen was laid on top
of the first about 20-50 years later, and this displaced the original
position of the first queen and her belongings. As well, in Tomb
III, the main coffin was found empty except a bone fragment and
one bead, but three other coffins with partial skeletons were found
in the antechamber. The unusual arrangement of the coffins and the
lack of a body or objects in the main burial suggests that the tomb
was looted and possibly rearranged in antiquity.
Archaeologists
meticulously excavated Tombs I and IV. But due to security issues,
they were forced to hastily dig Tombs II and III. For example, information
regarding dimensions, findspots, photographs, and detailed descriptions
were sometimes left out of the record. Additionally, these objects
now reside in an unknown repository in Iraq, so this information
cannot be recovered. In addition to the rushed excavation, archeologists
also faced budget cuts, lack of supplies, and insufficient funding
due to the outbreak of Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and its subsequent
sanctions. These adversities continued with the Gulf Wars.
The
difficulties with preserving objects found in the tombs did not
end with excavation. Important objects found in the Queen’s
Tombs were kept in a vault of Baghdad's central bank. Unfortunately,
the bank was bombed twice while the objects were in its care. It
was bombed first at the start of 1991 and again during the American
invasion in 2003. Miraculously, the vault survived both bombings,
but the flooding caused by the second bombing irreparably damaged
many of the objects. In addition, the more mundane objects from
the excavations, which were kept at the Iraq Museum and the Mosul
Museum, were looted during the war and the whereabouts of many of
these items remain unknown.
From
April 10th-12th 2003, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage
(SBAH), which is located in the same complex as and administers
the Iraq National Museum, was looted. This incident was a grievous
destruction of institutional and cultural memory, in addition, to
the unimaginable loss of many archeological finds. Looters destroyed
equipment and objects before burning records, during an attempt
to set the building on fire. In the aftermath of the looting, programs
such as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funded the
reconstruction of destroyed information and manuscripts. One of
the projects they funded led to the republication of the original
manuscript on the Queen’s Tombs written by Hussein. The original
report had been printed in a discolored and inadequate format due
to the lack of access to printing resources caused by the sanctions
in 2000. The reprint allowed for the addition of new information,
past corrections along with further detail, and drawings.
Modern
looting and trafficking continue to pose a serious threat to the
preservation and safekeeping of the site and its objects. In 2010,
Christie’s New York, a prominent private auction house, withdrew
a pair of earrings that were for sale when it was discovered that
they were a trafficked part of the archeological finds from Nimrud’s
royal tombs.
Reception
:
The discovery of the tombs originally received substantial coverage,
including a full-color spread in Time Magazine, but the attention
drifted with the Gulf Wars on the horizon. Additionally, the original
reports were largely in Arabic and local to Iraq, which limited
Western access to them due to an international embargo. Thus, the
queens’ tombs have received limited academic attention.
The
Nimrud Tombs are “one of the most important archaeological
finds of the second half of the twentieth century,” but the
chaos of war and the language barrier has resulted in the tombs
often being overlooked and underappreciated in the West.
The
tombs :
Overview :
The Tombs were built under the residential wing of the Northwest
palace by Assurnasirpal II and his son Shalmaneser III prior to
the queens’ deaths. As of January 2018, the tombs were the
only discovered Neo-Assyrian royal burial complete with burial dress
and objects of internment, so the find was crucial for understanding
Neo-Assyrian royal burial procedures. Similar vaulted tombs and
burial sites for both royals and the public were similarly found
beneath residences in Ashur, Til Barsip, and other locations in
Nimrud. These other sites also displayed the practice of providing
the dead with objects and adornment that reflected wealth and status.
The
tombs themselves were made primarily of various types of brick,
including mud-brick and baked brick. The tombs were vaulted, and
the vaults themselves were made out of baked brick. Stone and marble
slabs sealed off the tombs.
The
discovery of the Queen’s Tombs and their excavation gives
unique and valuable insight into the burial rituals of the royal
Neo-Assyrians as well as Neo-Assyrian domestic life, social structure,
physical health, and daily life.
The
four tombs were filled with personal items, many of which were made
from precious materials and came from foreign regions further to
the west. Such foreign objects may have been obtained or brought
by the queens as “a part of their bridal wealth.” These
far-flung artifacts show the extent of the empire’s power
and the importance of strategic royal marriages.
The
details as to which specific queens were buried where, as well as
their names, are somewhat unclear. The limited information on this
subject has resulted in many contradictory claims. However, there
is some evidence to suggest the names of certain women and the bodies
they likely belonged to. Additionally, the site and its inscriptions
add dynastic women, previously left out of the historical record.
The
women buried in the tombs have been identified to likely be :
|
Particulars |
● |
Mullissu-Mu-
kannishat-Ninua, wife of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859
BCE), whose tomb is located in Room 57 |
● |
Yaba',
the wife of Tiglath Pileser III (r. 744–727
BCE) |
● |
Banitu,
wife of Shalmaneser V (r. 726–722 BCE) |
● |
Atalya,
wife of Sar- gon II, (r. 721–705 BCE) |
● |
Hama,
the young wife of Shalmaneser IV (r. 782–773
BCE), whose magnificent gold stamp seal was found
in Tomb III |
|
It is important to note that the tombs found at Nimrud are commonly
referred to as the “Queens’ Tombs,” but it is
likely that these royal Assyrian women were not regarded as queens
in the way of its modern definition. The Akkadian word for king
is šarru, hence the word for queen would be šarratu. Yet,
šarratu was only reserved for goddesses, as the Assyrian queens
were not equal co-rulers with their spouses. Royal Assyrian women,
typically the wives of kings, were instead referred to as segallu,
or “woman of the palace.” The Neo-Assyrians queens were
not chief consorts, instead they had a domestic role in the court
as “rulers of the domestic realm.” This distinction
is why they were buried under the floors of the betanu in their
palace and not next to the kings in Assur––they ruled
the domestic parts of the palace both while alive and in death.
While this role differed from the role of the kings, it was nonetheless
incredibly important in the court.
Tomb
I :
Mallowan had labeled the rooms in the Northwest Palace with letters,
and Tomb I was found by searching underneath the floor of Room MM,
as Mallowan had not previously done so. A vault, made of baked brick,
was exposed first. Inside the vault was a cuneiform inscription
written on the brick wall. The inscription read “palace of
ashurnasirpal King of the World, King of the land of Ashur. Son
of tukulti-ninurta [II] King of the World, King of the land of ashur.
Son of adad-nirari [II] King of the World, King of the land of ashur.”
Ashurnasirpal certainly refers to king Ashurnasirpal II, who constructed
the palace, and it is possible that these bricks were reused from
an earlier construction. This inscription of Ashurnasirpal II implies
that buried within could be one of his wives, but it is also possible
that these inscriptions were reused from an earlier construction.
The
woman within the sarcophagus was in her early 50s at her time of
death and was likely of royal heritage, possibly of a lower rank,
or a former queen who outlived her spouse and was no longer carrying
out the responsibilities of segallu at the time of her death. This
theory is supported by the riches with which she was buried, which
were plentiful, but paled in comparison to some of the other tombs.
The sarcophagus was made of terra-cotta and had a ceramic cover.
Mud-brick, baked brick, and marble were used to close the entrance
to the tomb. Most of the architectural finds were inside the coffin.
Tomb
II :
This excavation began in 1989, and it was when the archeological
identification and labeling system was switched from letters to
numbers. Hussein found another vaulted chamber, Tomb II, near rooms
rooms 44, 49, 51, and 59. This chamber, too, was made of baked brick
and stone, while the floor was made of marble slabs, and was closed
off by two stone slabs that were likely held together by an iron
bar.
A
bathtub shaped sarcophagus carved from calcite was found in the
Northern end of the burial chamber. It contained the remains of
two women, both in their early 30s, laid on top of each other who
died approximately a generation apart. The top body was affiliated
with objects that identified her as Ataliya, queen of Sargon. A
tablet and two gold bowls seemed to identify the other occupant
as “queen of Tiglath-Pileser,” but another gold bowl
and cosmetics container were inscribed with “Banitu, queen
of Shalmaneser.” There are several possible explanations for
the two names. The inscriptions were written in Akkadian, and “Banitu
is a Akkadian translation of Yabâ, so they could have been
one person. The west Semitic names could also signify foreign birth
and, thus, an international marriage, which was popular during the
Neo-Assyrian reign, or it could be part of a popular naming trend.
The non-Assyrian roots of the queen could explain the many foreign
objects found in the tomb as they could be dowry items. It is possible,
though, that the objects could have been acquired as gifts and tribute.
Tomb
III :
Below the floor of room 57, Hussein and his team found a slab of
limestone covering a third vault, also made of baked brick. Bricks
in this tomb were also inscribed with not only the mark of Ashurnasirpal
II, but also Shalmaneser III, who may have finished construction
of the tomb. The Tomb held a sarcophagus in the main chamber made
of grey alabaster, but it was empty except for a bone shard and
a single bead. An inscription in the lid identified the chamber
as belonging to Mullissu-mukanishat-Ninua, queen of Ashurnasirpal
and of Shalmaneser. Three other bronze coffins (Coffins 1-3) were
found in the antechamber with various partial skeletons of 12 or
more people, which were probably secondary to the main burial in
the alabaster coffin. These bronze coffins may have been repurposed
bathtubs, and could have been used for these burials due to a series
of unexpected deaths or an emergency. Coffin 1 held the skeletons
of 1 unidentified royal woman, 3 children, one infant, and a fetus;
and it held a vast amount of gold and jewelry. A gold seal identified
coffin 2 as Hamâ, queen of Shalmaneser. A gold stamp seal
pendant that indicated her as such was buried with her and may have
initially been placed around her neck. Queen Hama died between the
ages of 18 and 20, thus her rule as segallu was short-lived. This
could explain her burial in one of the bronze coffins rather than
a tomb of her own, as her death was likely sudden, leaving no time
for a new construction. Hama’s body was wearing a gold crown,
one of the most famous finds from the excavation of the Queens'
Tombs at Nimrud. Coffin 3 held the remains of 5 adults, 2 males,
2 probable female, and 1 probably male.
The
unusual placements of the coffins can be explained in various ways,
including: someone moving the body in the main coffin to the ones
in the antechamber at some period in antiquity, looting, or other
extenuating circumstances. The three coffins in the outer chamber
were placed against the doors. This placing prevented the thieves,
who robbed the main sarcophagus, from doing the same in the antechamber.
Tomb
IV :
The corridor between room 72 and room 71 held a baked brick slab,
and underneath was the entrance to Tomb IV. The entrance was arched
and blocked by bricks. In Tomb IV, archaeologists found a rectangular
stone sarcophagus, originally covered by 4 slabs of terracotta.
Only a few objects and a couple teeth remained of the unknown deceased.
The tomb was robbed in antiquity, and so little remains, but what
is still there confirms the burial practices observed in the other
tombs.
Architectural
features and assemblage :
Northwest Palace :
Around 888 B.C.E., Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II began constructing
what is widely considered to be the most significant architectural
achievement of his 24 year reign: the Northwest Palace at Nimrud.
The building then became the Assyrian empire’s main palace,
replacing the royal palace at Ashur. While it was mainly used for
administrative purposes and general royal protocol, the palace’s
historical intrigue primarily stems from its Southern Section, wherein
located were the domestic wing and the royal harem. The Southern
Section of the Northwest Palace was a residential dwelling for Nimrud’s
royal women, the wives and cohorts of Neo-Assyrian kings. Given
this, dedicating the Southern Section as the resting place for such
royal women is fitting.
The
overall architectural aesthetic of the Northwest Palace is regarded
as Gesamtkunstwerken and very artistic in nature. There is vast
evidence to suggest that the palaces of Nimrud were decorated with
intricate wall reliefs, blue Mosul marble, paintings, glazed-brick,
strips of ivory, and bronze. The Northwest Palace contained many
state apartments, as well as courtyards, spacious suites, and a
throne room. The large rooms thought to be royal suites for the
king and/or queens were surrounded by the courtyards, and rooms
were linked together by long corridors, so it is likely that these
features gave the palace a feeling of openness and spaciousness.
Structural
techniques :
The Northwest Palace and the four tombs were made in part with mud-brick,
a brickmaking technique popular in Mesopotamian architecture. The
most common Near East building material, mud-brick is made of earth,
straw, and water, which is blended into a mixture, shaped, and dried
in the sun for up to two weeks. This same mixture is used while
wet as a bonding agent between the bricks.
Vaulting
was a very common architectural technique in ancient Mesopotamia
used to build a strong roof over a room, and vaults were used to
build all four queens’ tombs in the Northwest Palace. It is
commonly believed that vaulting originated in ancient Greece and
Rome, but the Egyptians and Mesopotamians were using mud-brick vaults
before Europe. The vaults used in the queens’ tombs were likely
designed to protect the sarcophagus from water and structural damage.
Objects
of adornment :
Overview :
One of the most well-known aspects about the Queen’s Tombs
excavation was the discovery of jewelry and other objects of adornment.
The finds included hundreds of earrings, neck pieces, and vessels.
In addition, there were clothes, headdresses, erotic figurines,
beads, amulets, mirrors, hair ornaments, pendants, stamps, fibula,
seals, bracelets, armlets, anklets, clothing ornaments and more.
Many of the objects were gold, however, others were shaped out of
silver, copper, bronze, stone, wood, ivory, ceramic, and crystal.
Some
of the jewelry and clothing remained in the positions they would
have been worn in at the time of burial. Scholars have analyzed
the materials, craftsmanship, design, arrangement, and origins of
these objects in order to learn more about Neo-Assyrian culture,
relations, social structure, and ways of life.
The
jewelry finds help scholars understand the dress and burial attire
of Neo-Assyrian queens. According to the findings at the Queen’s
Tombs, queenly burial ensemble, “included a headdress; a pair
of earrings; at least one collar, torque, or necklace; beads; one
or more pairs of bracelets; sets of up to 10 matching finger rings;
a pair of anklets; one or more fibulas; seals with attachment chains;
and an ornamented garment.” Each queen was buried with a diadem
that had a dorsal streamer, so it is likely this object was a sign
of a queenhood and identified each woman as such. The differing
sizes of the objects meant they were crafted to fit specific people.
To
the Neo-Assyrians, tombs were portals to the afterlife. Thus, while
the body lay in the tomb, its spirit would travel through the netherworld
and face gatekeepers at seven thresholds before standing before
a panel of judges. In the myth of Ishtar’s descent, the goddess
gives her jewelry and adornment to appease the gatekeepers and judges.
Therefore, it is thought that the large amounts of jewelry and other
objects of adornment buried with each queen could have been added
to pay each queen’s tolls and appease the deities of the afterlife.
For example, over 300 earrings were found in Tomb II and III. Additionally,
these objects of adornment and associated high status would ensure
that the deceased individual could retain that same position in
the netherworld. As displayed by documentation of grave robbing
anxieties, it was believed that when items were removed from tombs,
the social status and privilege of the buried individual in the
afterlife was lost. This was mirrored in the Myth of Ishtar, for
when she was forced to give away her regalia, she lost her power
and identity as a queen.
Tomb
I :
Tomb one contained a remarkable number of stamps, however, there
was no headdress or anklets found in it. This could be evidence
of a lower rank, older burial style (9th century BCE), or looting.
Objects
: (All item Titles taken directly taken from Hussein's list; see
Hussein's list for detailed descriptions and findspots.)
●
Seals
● Chain
● Fibula
● Rings and Bracelet
● Earrings
● Beads
● Amulets / Pendants
● Erotic Figurines
● Alabastra and Other Small Bottles
Tomb II :
Tomb II was the most intact of the tombs with a wealth of objects
and jewelry, and this allows for the most complete information on
Neo-Assyrian royal burials.
Objects
: (All item Titles taken directly taken from Hussein's list; see
Hussein's list for detailed descriptions and findspots.)
●
Gold Crown
● Diadem Segments
● Gold Bowls
● Eleven Small Golden Vials
● Rock Crystal Vessels
● Mirrors
● Earrings
● Collars, Torcs, and Necklaces
● Hair Ornaments
● Pendants
● Gold Chains
● Bracelets/Armlets
● Rings
● Anklets
● Clothing Ornaments
● Other Gold Objects
● Silver Objects
● Copper/Bronze Objects
● Stone Objects
● Ivory, Bone and Wood Objects
● Ceramic Items
Tomb III :
The main tomb was heavily robbed until only a bone shard and a few
beads remained. Coffin 1 contained a large quantity of mostly gold
jewelry. The second bronze coffin contained some of the most exceptional
and renowned finds of the tombs. The petite female in the tomb wore
a large cap-like crown decorated with pomegranates and winged genies.
She was identified with a stamp to be queen Hama.
Objects:
(All item Titles taken directly taken from Hussein's list; see Hussein's
list for detailed descriptions and findspots.)
Coffin
1 :
● Earrings
● Bracelets/Anklets
● Rings
● Miscellaneous Stone Objects
Coffin 2 :
● Gold Vessels
● Jewellery
● Earrings
● Torcs and Necklaces
● Gold Fibula
● Bracelets / Armlets and Anklets
● Rings
● Clothing Ornaments
● Objects of Stone, Pottery, and Wood
Coffin 3 :
● Earrings / Rings
● Pendants and Necklaces/Beads
● Fibula
● Bracelet
● Copper / Bronze Objects
● Stone Objects
● Glass / Faience
● Ivory, Wood, and Shell Objects
● Pottery
● Queen Hama
Because
of the gold stamp seal pendant, most likely worn around her neck
and the famed crown atop her head, scholars identified Queen Hama,
wife of Shalmaneser IV, daughter-in- law of Adad-nirari III as the
sole and primary burial in Tomb III, coffin 2. This is furthered
by the gold and precious jewelry befitting a queen that was interred
with her, and was similar to other royal burials in Tombs I and
II. Hama was young at her time of death, thus there may have been
little time for preparation, possibly explaining the unusual location
of her burial.
The
Crown :
Hama’s
crown has become a recognizable symbol of the Queen's Tombs at Nimrud.
This gold and lapis lazuli crown’s cap-like shape and configuration
has no known historical parallels, and it is distinctively different
from the queenly dorsal diadems seen in the other tombs, imagery,
and on Hama’s stamp seal. Its broad diameter, 24 cm, suggest
that the crown could have been worn over a diadem with a dorsal
streamer or elaborate hairstyle/underpinnings. Because of the iconography
on the crown––gold leaves, flowers, grapes, and female
winged genies––scholars have placed its origin in western
Syria or eastern Cilicia. However, scholars have theorized that
the crown’s imagery closely resembles the iconography of the
dress and adornment of a Neo-Assyrian queen, suggesting the crown
originated in Assyria.
Stamp
Seal :
The
stamp seal that identifies Queen Hama with its inscription šá
míha-ma-a munuS.é.GaL šá mšul-man-
maš man kur aš kal!-lat mu-érin.dah, translating
to “Belonging to Hama, queen of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria,
daughter-in-law of Adad-nerari.” Spurrier describes the stamp
seal as “depict[ing] a female worshipper, most likely the
queen herself, standing piously before a seated goddess.”
The goddess sits on a throne next to an animal and in front of an
enlarged scorpion. The animal was originally interpreted as a dog,
and then reinterpreted as a lion. This change would reidentify the
goddess not as previously believed Gula, but as the prominent Neo-Assyrian
goddess who married the god Ashur, Mullissu. Three more stamp seals
and two cylinder seals were also found with Queen Hama.
Tomb
IV :
Tomb IV was extensively robbed, so only a few objects, dress pieces,
and jewelry remained. Because of this, the tomb cannot be used to
directly identify Neo-Assyrian burial practices. However, the surviving
elements mirrored the other queenly tombs.
Objects
: (All item Titles taken directly taken from Hussein's list; see
Hussein's list for detailed descriptions and findspots.)
●
Silver Bowls
● Stamp Seals
● Jewelry
● Mirror
● Ceramic Items
● Textile
Destruction of the tombs :
On April 11, 2015, ISIL released a graphic video of the purposeful
demolition of art, sculpture, carvings, and architecture at the
ancient historical site of Nimrud using hand tools, power tools,
and explosives. Video analyses reveal that the destruction took
place over multiple different events. Images show the pile of destroyed
Neo-Assyrian relief panels could have existed as early as March
7, 2015. The detonation of the Northwest Palace did not occur until
after April 1, 2015. Satellite imagery confirms the destruction
and leveling of this ancient palace. UNESCO described the destruction
of Nimrud as a “war crime.” The damage and destruction
of history is the purposeful erasure of Iraqi cultural heritage.
ISIL condemned Nimrud for its pre-Islamic, idolatrous imagery and
architecture, and has destroyed other Iraqi and Syrian historical
sites.
Since
the catastrophic bombing of Nimrud in 2015, the survival of the
excavated Queen’s Tombs is not confirmed.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Queens%27_tombs_at_Nimrud