Sumerian Family (Patreon)

Wealthy Sumerian family at the central patio of their house, Ur, 2100 BCE

Characters belongs to TulipFarthing

Sumerian houses were made of mud brick, and their walls were covered in whitewashed plaster. The general layout of the buildings was similar all across Mesopotamia. Multiple rooms encircled the central courtyard, from three or four directions. The court was open to the sky and second floor for natural light. The floor was paved with brick and had a drainage system at the center that carried any rainwater into the street outside.

Sources

Alev Erarslan. “Evolution of The Courtyard House in The Pre-Islamic Period in Mesopotamia”, Developments in Engineering and Architecture. Kliment Ohridski University Press. 2021.

C. L. Woolley. The Sumerians, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1965.

Ceramic Cup, Nippur, 2600-2500 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gold Dagger, Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2450 BCE, British Museum

Gold Finger Rings from the Tomb of Puabi, Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2600 BCE, British Museum

Gypsum Statue of Shaven Man, 2500 BCE, British Museum

Necklace of Gold and Lapis Lazuli, Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2500 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Necklaces from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2300 BCE

Standard of Ur, Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2550 BCE

Statue of a Sumerian Woman, British Museum, 2400 BCE

Statue of Ebih-Il, 2400 BCE, Louvre Museum

Statue of enthroned woman with tablet on lap, Ur, Alabaster Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, 2112–2004 BCE

The Disk of Enheduanna, Ur, 2300 BCE