Who is he, this Mescalamdug? Translated from the Sumerian, this is precisely the "Hero of a blessed land" (and this name is stamped on the inside of the helmet), and it is also known about him that this is one of the first kings (lugals) who ruled in the Sumerian city of Ur in XXVI century BC NS. Not so much was found from him during excavations, but enough for the name of this ruler to forever enter the world fund of culture, namely, a golden helmet and a golden cylindrical seal on which is written "Mescalamdu [g] - lugal." More about him, as well as in S. Marshak's poem "The Story of an Unknown Hero", is not known. There are no other sources that mention his name. British archaeologist Leonard Woolley, who was just engaged in excavations in Ur, generally believed that these are two different rulers who bore the same name.
"Helmet of Mescalamdug"
However, archaeologists and historians are meticulous people. Collecting the history of the past literally bit by bit, they found out that Meskalamdug was the eldest son of King Namtar from his first marriage. But he did not inherit the throne of his father, which went to his half-brother from his second marriage, Prince Abaraggi, the son of Queen Shubad. Well, this is the same beauty whose sculptural appearance was recreated by the same Leonard Woolley from the skull.
But in this case, Sir Leonard Woolley cheated "a little": giving her the features of … his beloved wife. But when her skull was found in the storerooms of the museum and work was carried out to reconstruct the queen's appearance again, then … they did not get anything good: the forehead was large, the nose was narrow and upturned, the eyes were deep-seated, the neck was short and thick. With a height of only one and a half meters, she was also thick!
Whatever it was, but Meskalamdug still managed to sit on the throne and ruled from 2490 to 2485. BC e., but then died of a wound he received in a duel between him and some of his accuser, who suspected him of murdering his half-brother. And his brother really died only three years after he became king of Ur.
According to the prosecutor, Meskalamdug secretly plundered Abaraggi's grave, embezzled his wealth, including the famous helmet made entirely of gold. By decision of the council of priests, it was decided to arrange a "battle for the truth", in which this accuser inflicted a wound on the king's side, from which he died.
And here is what Leonard Woolley himself wrote when he excavated the tombs in Ur:
“We were truly amazed when we cleared the coffin of the earth. The body lay on its right side in the usual sleeping position. The wide silver belt disintegrated. Once upon a time a golden dagger and a lapis lazuli donkey on a gold ring were suspended from it. a pile of gold and lapis lazuli beads towered at the level of the belly. Between the hands of the deceased we found a heavy gold bowl, and next to another, oval, but larger. Near the elbow stood a golden lamp in the shape of a shell, and behind the head a third golden bowl. an ax made of an electron, and to the left - an ordinary golden ax. Behind in one pile were mixed up gold head ornaments, bracelets, beads, amulets, crescent-shaped earrings and spiral rings of gold wire. made of gold in the form of a wig, which pushed deeply over the head and covered the face with plates."
And here new mysteries begin, which in the history of Meskalamdug are already abundant in abundance. The fact is that the helmet with the inscription that it belongs to Meskalamdug is about … one and a half times smaller than the skull of Meskalamdug himself! That is, the helmet was not an adult, but a child! Whom? Could it be the prince Abaraggi, whom his half-brother certainly envied, and then possibly poisoned and stole his helmet right from the grave. Well, in order to give all this a legitimate look, he ordered to emboss an inscription with his own name on the helmet - here is my, as a child, my father blessed me with this helmet.
By the way, it is interesting that when the tomb of Tutankhamun was found in Egypt, everyone was delighted and literally shocked that it was opened to scientists in complete safety. In the 30s of the last century, when the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley unearthed the royal necropolis of ancient Ur and found practically untouched tombs with an abundance of gold and numerous human casualties, for some reason there was no such excitement.
The gate of the goddess Ishtar is the eighth gate of the inner city in Babylon. … The reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Road was carried out in the 1930s. at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin from materials collected by archaeologist Robert Koldewey and transported from Mesopotamia to Berlin.
Three tombs were especially rich and truly luxurious, and in one of them they found a golden helmet and vessels, signed with the name of Meskalamdug. But the tomb was not royal - which was obvious, although a little later in one of the neighboring plundered tombs they found the seal of Mescalamdug, where he was named king. An amazing contradiction between word and deed! A real detective story, the dispute on the merits of which is still ongoing.
Now let's look at the so-called "Mask of Sargon" (c. 2300 BC), discovered in Nineveh during excavations at the Ishtar Temple. This Sargon lived almost 300 years later than Meskalamdug and was an Akkadian who managed to subdue all of Sumer. But look at his hat. Here you can see everything the same as on the "Meskalamdug helmet", including the characteristic tuft of hair neatly tucked in the back.
Copper sculpted head, commonly referred to as the head of King Sargon the Ancient. From Nineveh. 23 c. BC. Baghdad, Iraqi Museum
It is obvious that, although three hundred years have passed, the tradition has remained. That is, this helmet was actually a crown and symbolized royal power. By the way, there is a very similar helmet on the image of Eanatum (king of Lagash), on the famous "Stele of Kites", which tells about his conquests.
Stone helmet. British museum.
However, there is an even more amazing British Museum exhibit that he bought in 1994 and dates back to about 2500 BC. The fact is that this helmet is made of … stone! The helmet is glued together from several small and large fragments and, although it differs in details from the "golden helmet", it is quite clear that it depicts something identical to it. And the question immediately arises: why would anyone need a stone helmet, when it was much easier to make a gold one ?!
What a fine thread, isn't it? And the holes along the rim for attaching the lining … Why are they? Was it really worn on the head? British museum.
All of these and many other treasures from the Ur excavations have been exhibited at the National Museum in Baghdad. Well, the British could not bring them to England and place them in the British Museum - the times of unbridled colonial robbery had already ended by that time. And what, did anyone benefit from this? Unfortunately no! In April 2003, the museum was looted during its assault by the American army. At the same time, the famous "Meskalamdug helmet" also disappeared.
British museum.
Moreover, everyone understands that it is impossible to sell it to anyone for any money, because who needs a thing that no one can declare their property, since crazy millionaires, who can do this, are found only in the cinema (see the comedy "How to Steal a Million" with a charming Audrey Hepburn). So, most likely, those who kidnapped him simply melted it into gold to make rings for tourists and get a couple of hundred dollars for them!
Looting of the National Museum of Iraq in 2003 during the assault on Baghdad by the American army.
For forty-six centuries, the "golden helmet" was waiting for its liberation from the earth, and during this time great cities arose and collapsed and mighty civilizations perished, river beds changed, seas became shallow and dry, whole islands covered with forests turned into a desert, but there was practically no time left its marks on it. And so he fell into the hands of modern people, and what? In less than a century, the crown of the ancient kings of Sumer disappeared from our culture forever.
"Royal Lyre" from the royal burial in Ur. The robbers barbarously broke it to pieces, trying to rip off the gold plates. They did not even imagine what kind of world treasure they destroyed.
True, in the British Museum, thanks to the foresight of the British, its electroformed copy is preserved.
