The Tigris-Euphrates Valley in Iraq, also known as the Fertile Crescent, was the birthplace of Sumerian culture, one of the earliest and most influential civilizations. Greek authors referred to the region as Mesopotamia or “the land between the rivers”.

Several collections of ancient Mesopotamian art are located in the US and many remarkable and significant pieces are at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (the UPM).

Taking as its motto, “Face to Face with Culture”, UPM is widely known as a center of research and education on human cultural history and diversity. The institution has sponsored more than four hundred archaeological and anthropological expeditions all over the world. Its collections span continents and millennia, featuring artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

In addition to its on-site presentations, UPM is also the source of traveling exhibitions which move all over the US.

Since 1998, its “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur” has been at the Sackler Gallery in Washington, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Oriental Institute in Chicago, Harvard University’s Fogg Museum, Emory University’s Carlos Museum in Atlanta, and others. Works from the Ur collection have been featured as part of larger exhibits, such as “Art of the First Cities” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

This year, “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur” returns to Philadelphia for a limited engagement before moving on to other sites. Through September 2004, it will be at the Dietrich Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Archaeology is of course the study of prehistoric and historic cultures as seen from their artifacts, monuments, settlements and other remains. Anthropology is the study of culture itself — how mankind evolved, how humans came to have distinct cultures, how cultures change over time and how diverse our societies are.

“Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur” presents a look at royal life in Mesopotamia nearly five thousand years ago. The exhibition’s two hundred artifacts were unearthed on the site of the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur between 1922 and 1934, by the well-known British archaeologist C. Leonard Woolley in an expedition financed jointly by the British Museum and UPM. Ur, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, is located on the western bank of the Euphrates River in present-day Iraq. On the site, archeologists discovered sixteen undisturbed tombs, filled with objects of breathtaking and unparalleled beauty dating from about 2600 B.C. The royal tombs at Ur opened the world’s eyes to the full glory of ancient Sumerian culture at its zenith.

Many of the items came from the tomb of a woman named Puabi who is thought to have been a queen. She wore a golden diadem, large double-crescent gold earrings and a cape of carnelian, gold, and lapis lazuli beads. Her pins and amulets, equally fine, are also on display. Several other objects reflecting life during Puabi’s time, called Sumer’s Early Dynastic Period, incorporate animal forms, including a strikingly realistic gold-covered sculpture known as the “Ram Caught in a Thicket.” The symbol of the exhibit is the great lyre from the King’s Tomb, a large, splendid wooden harp decorated with scenes from Sumerian mythology and an imposing golden bull’s head. The exquisite craftsmanship of ancient Near Eastern art is also evident in the lavishly decorated shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone chest known as the “Standard of Ur,” which depicts scenes from a battle and its aftermath.

“Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur” is at UPM in Philadelphia through Sept. 30, 2004. Related activities for children and adults are planned. For more information, please consult the museum’s website ww.museum.upenn.edu