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Closure of Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum
museum in Ur, thought to be the first by some historians
- 5th century – 5th century BCE
- Middle East
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museum in Ur, thought to be the first by some historians
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum is the earliest known public museum. It dates to circa 530 BCE. The curator was Ennigaldi, the daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It was in the state of Ur, in the modern-day Dhi Qar Governorate of Iraq, roughly 150 metres (490 ft) southeast of the famous Ziggurat of Ur.
The museum was discovered in 1925, when archaeologist Leonard Woolley excavated portions of the palace and temple complex at Ur. He found dozens of artifacts, neatly arranged side by side, whose ages varied by centuries. He determined that they were museum pieces, because they were accompanied by "museum labels"; clay drums written in three different languages, including Sumerian.
The palace grounds that included the museum were at the ancient building referred to as E-Gig-Par, which included Ennigaldi's living quarters as well as subsidiary buildings.
Ennigaldi's father Nabonidus, an antiquarian and antique restorer, is known as the first serious archeologist. He taught her to appreciate ancient artifacts and influenced her to create her educational antiquity museum.
The artifacts came from the southern regions of Mesopotamia. Many had originally been excavated by Nabonidus and were from as early as the 20th century BCE. Some artifacts had been collected previously by Nebuchadnezzar. Some are thought to have been excavated by Ennigaldi herself.
Ennigaldi 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.
Some of these artifacts were:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.