Limestone plaque

Square stone plaques with holes through the centre, and carved in relief, are typical objects of the Early Dynastic period in southern Mesopotamia (2900-2300 BC). They were probably dedicated in a temple and fixed to the mud-brick wall of a shrine using a stone or wooden peg driven through the hole. The end of a piece of cord attached to a door was then wound around the end of the peg to tie the door shut.This plaque was found by Leonard Woolley in the ruins of a religious institution called the Gipar-ku, residence of the High Priestess of the moon god Nanna.The upper register shows a row of worshippers and a shaved and naked priest with long hair or head cloth. He is pouring a liquid offering into a vessel. A bearded god in robes and horned head-dress stands before him. In the lower register, a man and woman carry animal offerings. Beside them, a woman stands full-face, in the typical pose of a goddess in this period, though she may be the High-Priestess. In front of her a naked priest pours another libation before a building. The building is decorated with niches and buttresses characteristic of Mesopotamian temple architecture.