ENNIGALDI-NANNA'S
MUSEUM
![](ennigaldinannasmuseum.jpg)
Ennigaldi-Nanna's
museum location within Iraq
![](640px-Ur-Nassiriyah.jpg)
Archeological
excavations at the palace grounds
Established
: Circa
530 BCE
Dissolved : 5th century-BCE
Location : Ancient Ur
Coordinates : 30.961667° N 46.105278° E
Type : Mesopotamian artifacts
Curator : Princess Ennigaldi
Ennigaldi-Nanna's
museum is thought by some historians to be the first museum, although
this is speculative. It dates to circa 530 BCE. The curator was
Ennigaldi, the daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian
Empire. It was located in the state of Ur, located in the modern-day
Dhi Qar Governorate of Iraq, roughly 150 metres (490 ft) southeast
of the famous Ziggurat of Ur.
History
:
When archaeologists excavated certain parts of the palace and
temple complex at Ur they determined that the dozens of artifacts,
neatly arranged side by side, whose ages varied by centuries,
were actually museum pieces - since they came with what was finally
determined to be "museum labels". These consisted of
clay cylinder drums with labels in three different languages.
Ennigalbi's father Nabonidus, an antiquarian and antique restorer,
taught her to appreciate ancient artifacts. Her father is known
as the first serious archeologist and influenced Ennigaldi to
create her educational antiquity museum.
The
palace grounds that included the museum were at the ancient building
referred to as E-Gig-Par, which also had her living quarters.
The palace grounds also included the palace subsidiary buildings.
Contents
:
When archaeologist Leonard Woolley excavated the ruins of the
museum, its contents were discovered to be labeled, using tablets
and clay drums. Many of the artifacts had been originally excavated
by Nabonidus, Ennigald's father, and were from the 20th century
BCE. Some artifacts had been collected previously by Nebuchadnezzar.
Some are thought to have been excavated by Ennigald herself. The
items were many centuries old already in Ennigald's time and came
from the southern regions of Mesopotamia.
Ennigald
stored the artifacts in a temple next to the palace where she
lived. She used the museum pieces to explain the history of the
area and to interpret material aspects of her dynasty's heritage.
The
"museum labels" (the oldest such known to historians)
for the items found in the museum were clay cylinders with descriptive
text in three different languages [which?].
Some of these artifacts were :
●
A kudurru, Kassite boundary marker (carved with a snake
and emblems of various gods).
● Part of a statue of King Shulgi
● A clay cone that had been part of a building
at Larsa.
![](400px-Belshalti-nannar%27s_museum_label.jpg)
A
clay cylinder inscribed with a description in three languages,
as used in Ennigaldi's museum to accompany an ancient artifact;
these are the earliest known "museum labels"
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennigaldi-Nanna%27s_museum