Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum

Archeological excavations at the palace grounds
Location within Iraq
Established	Circa 530 BCE
Dissolved	5th century-BCE
Location	Ancient Ur
Coordinates	30°57′42″N 46°06′19″E / 30.961667°N 46.105278°E / 30.961667; 46.105278
Type	Mesopotamian artifacts
Curator	Princess Ennigaldi

Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum is the earliest known public museum.^[1] It dates to circa 530 BCE.^[2][3][4][5] The curator was Ennigaldi, the daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.^[6] 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.^[7]

The museum was discovered in 1925, when archaeologist Leonard Woolley excavated portions of the palace and temple complex at Ur.^[5] 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. ^[5][8][7][9]

The palace grounds that included the museum were at the ancient building referred to as E-Gig-Par, which included Ennigaldi's living quarters^[10] as well as subsidiary buildings.^[5][11][12]

Ennigaldi's father Nabonidus, an antiquarian and antique restorer,^[4] is known as the first serious archeologist.^[2] He taught her to appreciate ancient artifacts^[4] and influenced her to create her educational antiquity museum.^[2]

The artifacts came from the southern regions of Mesopotamia.^[4] 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.^[12] Some are thought to have been excavated by Ennigaldi herself.^[4]

Ennigaldi stored the artifacts in a temple next to the palace where she lived.^[4] She used the museum pieces to explain the history of the area and to interpret material aspects of her dynasty's heritage.^[8]

Some of these artifacts were:

• A kudurru, Kassite boundary marker (carved with a snake and emblems of various gods).
• Part of a statue of King Shulgi
• A clay cone that had been part of a building at Larsa.^[3]

• Anzovin, Steven; Podell, Janet (2000). Famous First Facts, International Edition: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in World History. H.W. Wilson. ISBN 978-0-8242-0958-2.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica (1997). The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 2 (15 ed.). ISBN 978-0-85229-633-2.
• Casey, Wilson (6 October 2009). Firsts: Origins of Everyday Things That Changed the World. DK Publishing. ISBN 978-1-101-15946-0.
• HarperCollins (1997). HarperCollins atlas of archaeology. Borders Press in association with HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 978-0-7230-1005-0.
• Dolezal, Robert J. (1987). Reader's Digest Book of Facts. Reader's Digest Association. ISBN 978-0-89577-256-5.
• León, Vicki (1 January 1995). Uppity Women of Ancient Times. Conari Press. ISBN 978-1-57324-010-9.
• McIntosh, Jane (1999). The Practical Archaeologist: How We Know what We Know about the Past. Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-3950-0.
• Nash, Stephen Edward, ed. (September 30, 2003). "Curators, collections, and contexts: anthropology at the Field Museum, 1893-2002". Fieldiana: Anthropology. 1525 (36). Field Museum of Natural History. JSTOR i29782661.
• Woolley, Leonard; Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1982). Ur 'of the Chaldees'. Herbert Press. ISBN 978-0-906969-21-2.
• Woolley, Leonard (1954). Excavations at Ur: A Record of Twelve Years' Work. Great Britain: Ernest Benn Limited. ISBN 978-0-8152-0110-6.

30°57′42″N 46°6′19″E / 30.96167°N 46.10528°E / 30.96167; 46.10528