Please donate to Aseel in Gaza here: https://chuffed.org/project/128660-help-aseel-her-family-escape-gaza

Guest: Sheila

We're so back! First, a Sumerian poem about Gilgamesh which mentions his trip to see Ziusudra (also known as Atrahasis, Utnapishtim, and/or Noah), which some have interpreted as evidence for the kind of mass human sacrifice we see in these tombs.

Then, the famous Royal Tombs of Ur, first excavated a century ago, with their famous treasures and aforementioned mass human sacrifice! For the first time, we're able to look at the royal family through the generations rather than dealing with isolated kings' names. We might even be able to identify some of their bodies, unlike their dozens of unlucky victims.

Then, we look at several of the famous artifacts which these tombs produced: the Standard of Ur, the Royal Game of Ur, and several bull-head lyres, including the Great Lyre, along with other musical instruments. We finish up with a look at four tombs: Personal Grave (PG) 1236, possibly the early king Aya-Anzu; PG 1237 (or the Great Death Pit), possibly King Meskalamdu; PG 755, possibly a later member of the royal family also named Meskalamdu; and PG 800, tomb of the famous Pu-abi with her famous jewelry.

Then: Gilgamesh, he of well-proportioned limbs, has lain down and is never to rise again! Sheila (who had just got back from visiting family in India when we recorded this way back in 2023) compares modern Hindu practices with the style of Sumerian oral performances like this one.

Questions? Feedback? Email us at drumbeatforeverafter@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @drumbeatforever

Works cited

Aseel and her family desperately need your help surviving the war on Gaza! Please donate to her here: https://chuffed.org/project/128660-help-aseel-her-family-escape-gaza

Donate to Aseel's sister Tahrir here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-doaas-family-escape-to-safety?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

Also, check out episodes 17-28, most of which I re-recorded and reuploaded recently.

New episodes on Early Dynastic Sumer coming soon.

Guest: Stacy

First, a story about Enlil, the Sumerian god of kingship, and his future wife Ninlil; he sees her bathing in a canal in their hometown of Nippur, and the narrative isn't especially concerned how consensual the resulting sexual encounter is.

Then, we visit Nippur, a temple center which one scholar called the "Mesopotamian Vatican", starting with a cylinder seal from a very early level of the later Inanna Temple complex. Then, we look at the first certain temple from that complex, including what may be a shrine to the mother/crafting goddess Nin-SAR.

Then, we visit level VIIB of the same temple, dating to around the same time as the Fara texts from Shuruppak and Abu Salabikh, and look at the various inscribed objects dedicated to Inanna (and Nin-SAR).

Then, we look at a few less-documented aspects of this period of Nippur's history: Enlil's E-kur temple complex (archaeologically invisible before the late 2200s), its municipal government (we know the names of a few ensis, but not much more), and a handful of burials (nothing fancy, compared to what's coming next episode).

Finally, we finish with a short incantation from around this time.

Questions? Feedback? Email us at drumbeatforeverafter@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @drumbeatforever

Works cited