Imdugud Copper Frieze from the Ninhursag Temple (Illustration)

Illustration

by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
published on 26 July 2014

This frieze was excavated at the base of the temple of the goddess Ninhursag at Tell Al-Ubaid. The lion-headed eagle monster, or Imdugud, grasps a pair of deer. Imdugud represents the Sumerian god Ningirsu, and it is unknown why it was placed at the temple of Ninhursag. The frieze was probably placed above one of the main doorways of the temple. It was found in a very poor condition and required extensive conservation. It represents an exceptional example of large-scale Sumerian metalwork. Early dynastic III, circa 2500 BCE, from Tell Al-Ubaid, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. (The British Museum).

About the Author

Associate Professor of Neurology and lover of the Cradle of Civilization, Mesopotamia. I'm very interested in Mesopotamian history and always try to take photos of archaeological sites and artifacts in museums, both in Iraq and around the world.

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Uploaded by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, published on 26 July 2014 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

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