Tracing the &quot;diadem-wearers&quot;: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age in the Near East

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean PCMA; Zuzanna Wygnanska

The article is focused on the diadems deriving from graves and hoards. A closer examination of their specific contexts, coupled with ethnographic observations, indicates their frequent use as symbols of elevated position, but also as indications of non-vertical features of individual social identity, such as, for example, affiliation with an ethnic or other social group. Iconographic studies have demonstrated that plain and simple headbands may have indeed been perceived as symbols of power (crowns), whereas frontlets and other forms of diadems not known from depictions could have represented diverse social aspects of the wearer or acted as attributes of rites of passage.

Title: Tracing the “diadem-wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age in the Near East Author(s): Zuzanna Wygnańska Journal: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 23/2, Special Studies: Beyond ornamentation. Jewelry as an Aspect of Material Culture in the Ancient Near East, edited by A. Golani , Z. Wygnańska Year: 2014 Pages: 85-144 ISSN 1234–5415 (Print), ISSN 2083–537X (Online) Publisher: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw (PCMA UW), Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (WUW) www.pcma.uw.edu.pl – www.wuw.pl polish archaeology in the mediterranean XXiii/2 Special StudieS POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN (PAM) annual reports of the polish centre of mediterranean archaeology, University of Warsaw Editorial Board piotr Bieliński Krzysztof m. ciałowicz Wiktor andrzej daszewski michał gawlikowski Włodzimierz godlewski Karol myśliwiec International Advisory Board Jean charles Balty charles Bonnet giorgio Buccellati stan hendrickx Johanna holaubek peer-reviewed by members of the PAM committee of independent reviewers polish centre of mediterranean archaeology University of WarsaW polish archaeology in the mediterranean XXiii/2 Special StudieS Beyond ornamentation jewelry as an aspect of material culture in the ancient near east editors Amir GolAni, ZuZAnnA WyGnAńskA POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN (PAM) Annual reports of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw pam editor-in-chief: iwona Zych volume 23/2: Special Studies Beyond Ornamentation. Jewelry as an Aspect of Material Culture in the Ancient Near East scientiic editors: amir golani, Zuzanna Wygnańska all texts peer-reviewed Bibliographic editor: aleksandra Zych language consultation: iwona Zych technical editor: iwona Zych editorial assistance: agnieszka szymczak digital processing: ewa czyżewska image processing and copyediting assistance: ewa czyżewska, szymon maślak, marta momot, marek puszkarski, Urszula Wicenciak original graphic design: Jerzy Kowalski, updated by ewa czyżewska for pcma dtp: ewa czyżewska, assistant Urszula Wicenciak cover: Beads from a mitanni grave at tell arbid, syria (photo J. Wierzbicki) iSSN 1234–5415 (print), iSSN 2083–537X (Online) © polish centre of Mediterranean archaeology, university of Warsaw, Warszawa 2014 © copyright by Wydawnictwa uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2014 all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the polish centre of mediterranean archaeology of the University of Warsaw. polish centre of mediterranean archaeology, University of Warsaw 00-497 Warszawa, poland, ul. nowy Świat 4 e-mail: pam.pcma@uw.edu.pl www.pcma.uw.edu.pl University of Warsaw press pl -00-497 Warszawa, ul. nowy Świat 4 www.wuw.pl; e-mail: wuw@uw.edu.pl internet Bookshop: www.wuw.pl/ksiegarnia Printed in Poland contents cONteNtS abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 preface ................................................. ................................... 9 introduction Amir Golani, Zuzanna Wygnańska ...................................... .............. 11 map of major sites discussed in the text ................................ 18 the bead workshop at site mps 4, mil plain, azerbaijan: craft specialization and the manufacture of shell jewelry in the neolithic Ilia Heit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 a Badarian – naqadian cognitive link? a possible insight on the basis of a Badarian hippopotamus-shaped pendant from egypt Maarten Horn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 cowrie shells and their imitations as ornamental amulets in egypt and the near east Amir Golani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inQuiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments from the chalcolithic and early Bronze age in the near east Zuzanna Wygnańska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 amulets? on the possible function of zoomorphic pendants from child burials in tell rad shaqrah (syria) Dariusz Szeląg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Jewelery manufacture in the Kura-araxes and Bedeni cultures of the southern caucasus: analogies and distinctions for the reconstruction of a cultural changeover Eleonora Carminati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 West anatolian beads and pins in the 2nd millennium Bc: some remarks on function and distribution in comparison with neighboring regions Magda Pieniążek, Ekin Kozal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 5 pam 23/2: special studies contents Beads, pendants and other ornaments from late 3rd–2nd millennium Bc occupation on failaka, Kuwait Ann Andersson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 vitreous beads from the Uluburun shipwreck Rebecca S. Ingram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 personal display in the southern levant and the Question of philistine cultural origins Josephine Verduci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 revealed by their jewelry: ethnic identity of israelites during the iron age in the southern levant Amir Golani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 personal ornaments at hasanlu, iran Megan Cifarelli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 index of sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 guidelines for authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 pcma publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 6 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east tRaciNg tHe “diadeM WeaReRS” aN iNquiRy iNtO tHe MeaNiNg OF SiMple-FORM Head adORNMeNtS FROM tHe cHalcOlitHic aNd eaRly BRONZe age iN tHe NeaR eaSt Zuzanna Wygnańska polish centre of mediterranean archaeology, University of Warsaw abstract: simple-form head adornments made of precious metals appeared in the near east in the second half of the 4th millennium Bc. hey consisted of a long narrow band as a rule, but small oval or rhomboidal plates or single leaf-shaped adornments were also in use. consequently, these ornaments or ‘diadems’, as they are usually referred to, are apt to be interpreted as markers of high status, the interpretation being based mainly on studies of diferent types of depictions, such as reliefs. he article is focused on the real diadems deriving from graves and hoards. a closer examination of their speciic contexts, coupled with ethnographic observations, indicates their frequent use as symbols of elevated position, but also as indications of non-vertical features of individual social identity, such as, for example, ailiation with an ethnic or other social group. iconographic studies have demonstrated that plain and simple headbands may have indeed been perceived as symbols of power (crowns), whereas frontlets and other forms of diadems not known from depictions could have represented diverse social aspects of the wearer or acted as attributes of rites of passage. he aim of this article is to examine the various uses of simple diadems and to study their diferentiated context during the late 4th and 3rd millennium Bc in the near east in order to better understand the meaning of the burials with simple-form diadems. keywords: diadems, headbands, frontlets, near east, anatolia, chalcolithic, eBa, gold and silver jewelry skull. it was accompanied by an array of personal ornaments, that is, two silver bangles and three silver beads, as well as other beads, four made of carnelian and one of an unidentiied material, and a female burial from the late 3rd millennium Bc, excavated in 2008 at the site of tell arbid in northeastern syria,1 revealed a ine leaf-shaped ornamented diadem of gold sheet, still in place on the woman’s 1 excavations were carried out by a polish–syrian mission directed by prof. piotr Bieliński under the auspices of the directorate general of antiquities and museums of the syrian arab republic and the polish centre of mediterranean archaeology, University of Warsaw; the ieldwork, ongoing since 1996, was interrupted in 2011 by the civil war in syria. 85 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east woman, aged 25 to 30, in the local community despite being simingly at odds the grave, which was a simple pit dug into the ruins of a kiln in an area that appears ceramic vessels (Bieliński 2012: 519–520, fig. 9) [Fig. 1]. he head ornament, which is has no parallel at the site, suggested the distinguished position of this young Fig. 1. Leaf-form diadem and other personal adornments rom grave G1-52/54/2009 at Tell Arbid; on let, plan of grave G1-52/54/2009 with position of the grave goods (Photo A. Reiche; drawing M. Momot; PCMA) 86 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east to have had no contemporary houses and graves in the immediate vicinity. he head adornments in the form of a band, which are usually made of precious metals, were frequently interpreted a priori as a distinction of royalty, a crown of sorts. several studies have raised the issue of the meaning of diadems of this kind (for example Braun-holzinger 2007; reade 2009; Winter 2010; novák 2012), but these studies have referred mainly to iconographic sources, such as reliefs and depictions on seals, without examining actual inds and their contexts, which could throw more light on the question of their meaning. he arbid diadem may be unique on site, but it is part of a long tradition of simple-form diadems that started in the near east well before the end of the 3rd millennium Bc, from which time comes our ind [Fig. 2] to understand its speciic burial context, a broader inquiry is needed into the meaning of these objects in the ancient near east from the late 4th and 3rd millennium Bc, that is, the chalcolithic through early Bronze age. to gain insight into their signiicance in terms of social identiication one needs, however, to review the known archaeological contexts. simple-form head ornaments — definition simple-form head adornments are either thin bands or small thin plates of metal, mostly undecorated or with simple ornamentation. he arbid diadem is a typical example. it emulated in shape a linear leaf (length 9.5 cm; about 1.3 cm at the widest point) decorated with a chased pattern imitating venation. it was curved to it the shape of the forehead and pierced at both ends (the gold sheet had been torn at the perforation, it was so ine). “diadem” is an archaeological term used frequently to describe such ornaments, but terms like “frontlet”, “illet”, “headband” and “bandeau” have also found favor with researchers. “mouthpiece” is used as well, because some ornaments of similar form were discovered not on the forehead, but in the general area of the jawbones (e.g., at Kültepe, where an ornament in the form of an ellipsoidal plate decorated with a design of a raised zigzag and punched dots, was found lying on the jaw, see Özgüç 1986: 26, fig. 26; cited ater makowski 2011: 211). diadems could be very elaborate as a few famous diadems from the royal burials at Ur (e.g., Woolley 1934: pl. 128, 135, 144; see also below), but for the most part they were rather simple, consisting of a strip of gold sheet pierced at both ends. for the purposes of the present discussion, this simpler form, which is attested much more frequently in the archaeological record, will be referred to as a “diadem”, further diferentiated into “headbands” and “frontlets“. headbands are deined herein as narrow strips of metal foil, elongated, rectangular or elliptical in shape, intended as full or partial circlets, encircling the head or at least the frontal part [e.g., Fig. 5A–C]. frontlets, on the contrary, are elliptical, oval, rhomboidal or leaf-like head ornaments, more plates than circlets, intended to be placed centrally on the forehead [e.g.; Fig. 5D–E]. Both were virtually always made of precious metal, usually gold, silver, electrum and rarely copper alloy. 87 pam 23/2: special studies CASPIAN SEA BLACK SEA Küçükhöyük DemircihöyükSarıket Alacahöyük Kültepe Korucutepe Arslantepe Tell Mozan Tell Arbid Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Tell Beydar Umm el-Marra Ebla 88 ME N RA ER DIT EA NS EA Tell Bi`a Wreide Tepe Gawra Terqa Byblos Mari – headbands – frontlets – leaf-frontlets pam 23/2: special studies – 4th millennium BC – 1st half of 3rd millennium BC – 2nd half of 3rd millennium BC – 1st half of 2nd millennium BC – date uncertain Khafaje Tell ed-Der Kish Abu Salabikh Nippur Uruk Ur Fig. 2. Map showing the typological and chronological distribution of ornaments discussed in the article (Processing U. Wicenciak) Susa tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east earliest diadems from the chalcolithic was noted in levels iX–viii, dated to the irst half of the 4th millennium Bc, as compared to earlier levels, indicating that some individuals were ascribed elevated social status already at birth (peasnall 2002: 232–233). he uniqueness of the headband suggests that it could have been an emblem of authority diferent from other symbols of privileged status. Buried with a prematurely deceased individual, it relected hereditary status. his corresponds to the interpretation put forward of changes evidencing an intensively growing social complexity at gawra in the late chalcolithic period, accompanied by the appearance of both adult and child elite burials. several silver headbands were retrieved from tombs dated to the terminal 4th millennium Bc in Byblos (chéhab 1950: 76–77). hese were narrow rectangular bands with pierced rounded ends, sometimes decorated with punched dots along the edges (chéhab 1950: pl. 1; musche 1992: 62, pl. X). hey were discovered in adult, as well as child burials. he headbands were accompanied by other precious ornaments and seem to have indicated the high status of the deceased. he occurrence of a clearly distinguished group, including both adults and children, could be associated with the prosperity of the city of Byblos at this time. he earliest diadems from the near east, known from archeological contexts extending from mesopotamia in the east to the mediterranean coast and anatolia in the west, come from the mid 4th millennium Bc [Table 1, Fig. 2]. hey are rare and are represented solely by headbands. all the known examples attest to their function as markers of elite status. coming from mesopotamia is a plain golden headband with pierced ends, found in a burial from about 3800– 3600 Bc at tepe gawra (tobler 1950: 116–117; for dating, rothman 2002: 56). he ornament had decorated the head of a child.2 he high rank of the young diadem wearer is suggested by an elaborate tomb and the set of grave goods, as well as perhaps a prestigious location below a temple loor (tobler 1950: 116–117; speiser 1935: 142), although peasnall’s revision of the stratigraphy (2002: 173, 233) has led him to argue in favor of separating the well-endowed tombs from the sanctuary buildings. he young age of the diadem wearer is surprising in this context, but several other child and infant burials from tepe gawra, beside the adult ones, have also yielded head ornaments in the form of gold rosettes accompanied by other personal adornments and grave goods indicating high social rank.3 a clear increase of high ranking child burials 2 3 see peasnall’s remarks on problems with age estimation with regard to the late chalcolithic burials from tepe gawra (2002: 203–205). he burials with rosettes occurred mostly in stratum X, but single examples appeared already earlier (Xi/Xa) and also later (viii). for the relative dating of the strata, see porada et alii 1992/i: 92–96; 1992/ii: 96; rothman 2002. four diferent types of rosette ornaments were distinguished. some of them seem to have been attached to headbands, while others may have been used to adorn clothes (tobler 1950: 90, pls XXvii, lviii, clXXv, figs 74, 76, cvii figs 53–57, cviii fig. 58; oppenheim 1949: 188). 89 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east a silver headband narrowing toward the ends came from a rich burial from about 3000 Bc discovered in Korucutepe in turkey (van loon 1973: 360–361, pl. 5[1]). he headband was adorned with red and white beads, but it is not clear how they were mounted (a series of bone beads below the headband may have been sewn onto a textile cap or shroud). he burial was that of a young female interred in a cemetery near other burials of high ranking individuals (van loon 1973: 360). curiously, it seems that the headband was the only head adornment recorded from this site. a diferent and apparently unusual set of circumstances accompanied the deposition of head ornaments at another anatolian site, arslantepe (frangipane et alii 2001). his ind dates to the beginning of the 3rd millennium Bc, a transitional period that witnessed the collapse of the powerful administrative centre existing locally in the 4th millennium Bc and the introduction of a new socio-political order in eastern anatolia (frangipane et alii 2001). hree headbands originated from an unusual elite (‘royal’) burial that included an adult male and four sacriiced adolescent individuals. he head ornaments associated with both the chief burial as well as with two of the sacriiced individuals, were made of a rare copper–silver alloy. he headbands bear punched decoration with waves and vertical lines interspersed, having parallels according to the excavators in transcaucasian graves (e.g., Kvatskhelebi, see also carminati 2014: fig. 9 on page 171 in this volume). he diadems were placed directly across the foreheads and had traces of linen on their internal side, indicating that the deceased were clothed in a kind of veil adorned with the headbands. his may have been a ceremonial cloth used in life. he diadems from arslantepe were visibly associated with the high rank of the individual buried in the main grave and the sacriicial victims were probably similarly adorned to emphasize this person's rank. it cannot be excluded that the two victims wearing the headbands were related to the family of the main deceased (frangipane et alii 2001: 111). he context of this burial and the uniqueness of the observed rites are unparalleled and puzzling; they may be seen as illustrating a violent process of political and perhaps cultic transformation at the site at the turn of the millennia. he distinctive decoration of the diadems suggest that the head ornaments may represent a non-local, perhaps even foreign element brought in by the new inhabitants of arslantepe. in recapitulation, diadems of the 4th and very early 3rd millennium Bc were headbands of precious metals that were probably reserved for elite burials. it is not evident why diadems should be found with some young and very young individuals, while other elite burials of adults were deprived of this kind of distinction. it could relect the introduction of a new concept of hereditary high rank. precious metal ornaments, among them headbands, occurred in graves concurrently with the beginning of metal production and their presence may be the efect of emerging elites in the ancient near east. still, examples from this early period are very rare and the situation of using diadems to adorn the deceased is only occasional. 90 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east diadems from the first half of the 3rd millenniUm Bc diadems from the irst half of the 3rd millennium Bc were still rare and are represented by inds from anatolia and mesopotamia [see Table 1]. an impressive collection of simple gold and copper alloy headbands and frontlets was discovered in two early Bronze ii (henceforth eBii: 2700–2400 Bc) extramural cemeteries in demircihöyük-sarıket and Küçükhöyük in western inland anatolia (efe, fidan 2006: 22). in demircihüyük-sarıket, 47 out of nearly 600 eB ii graves were furnished with diferent kinds of diadems (seeher 2000: 61–62).4 he ornaments were either frontlets or short bands (approximately 1.5–12 cm long) with rounded or rectangular ends or, less commonly, short ellipsoidal plates pierced at the ends [Fig. 3:A]. he longer, rectangular bands may easily be designated as headbands, but the very short ones, more plates than bands, should be referred to rather as frontlets. in 29 cases, the ornaments were found in place, directly on the foreheads; they were most probably attached to a cap or a strip of material (seeher 2000: 62). it is highly probable that all were worn as head adornments. hey were made of gold or copper alloy, seldom of silver or lead. he decoration usually consisted of a row of dots punched along the edges.5 summing up, one should emphasize that the excavators considered the extreme thinness and negligent execution of the diadems as evidence of exclusively fune4 5 rary use and the absence of inds of this type from a contemporary settlement at demircihöyük in the neighborhood supports this idea (seeher 2000: 62). seeher observed that there was no correlation between the aluence of a burial and the form, size and material of the diadems; frontlets and headbands, made of gold, silver and copper, appeared in wealthy as well as modest graves (seeher 2000: 62). furthermore, he suggested that their primary function was not so much to embellish as to provide ritual marking essential in rites of passage, hence the metal dagger bent to it a child’s forehead, apparently as a substitute for a real diadem, discovered in one of the graves (seeher 2000: 62). another intriguing question is, if diadems carried symbolic meaning for rituals associated with entering the aterlife, then why were they found with only 10% of the buried individuals in this cemetery. distribution patterns failed to answer the question, because diadems seemed to be unrestricted by gender or age; they were found with men, women and children alike. he same can be said of the distribution of diadems at Küçükhöyük, a site near demircihöyük-sarıket, although the diadems there were made of either gold or copper alloy and were less numerous and less diferentiated in shape and decoration (gürkan, seeher 1991: 90, fig. 22,6–12). While anatolian sites included assemblages of diferent and numerous Burials continued to be made in the cemetery in the middle Bronze age, but the custom of using diadems was dropped. in a few cases, the pattern consists of an irregular geometrical design (seeher 2000: fig. 41.e) and unique examples bear double circles punched between rows of dots (seeher 2000: fig. 20.q) or raised intersecting diagonal lines in repoussée (seeher 2000: fig. 32.e, f ). 91 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Fig. 3. Headbands and rontlets rom the irst half of the 3rd millennium BC: A – rom EBA II burials at Demircihöyük-Sarıket (Ater Seeher 2000: Fig. 19/5–8); B – Headband (M 1427) and a set of personal adornments rom Tomb 300 in Mari (Ater Jean-Marie 1999: Pl. 45) 92 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east headbands and frontlets, only a few mesopotamian sites produced single examples of headbands associated with elite female burials. a silver headband from abu salabikh, running around the head between two silver rosettes, was more than just a simple form of diadem (martin et alii 1985: 12, 19–37, fig. 9b: nos 30–31, 217). he burial in which it was found was as unusual as the band was elaborate. it was situated in a presumably administrative building belonging to a temple and was assigned a date in the ed ii (2800–2600 Bc). he decorated diadem belonged probably to an adult female and was evidently a mark of her high rank. also tomb 300 from mari, dated to 2600 Bc, contained an exceptionally decorative version of the diadem: a short gold band with seven rosettes of equal size, made by the repoussé technique ( Jean-marie 1999: pl. 45; nicolini 2010: 85–86, pls 1–3) [Fig. 3:B]. he diadem was accompanied by rich personal adornments (including medallions, also decorated with rosettes). Burial 300 was found in the courtyard of the ishtar temple and it seems that rosettes might have been an emblem of the goddess (nicolini 2010: 438–439). he two female individuals adorned with diadems with rosettes, one from abu salabikh and the oher from mari, were probably priestesses and the diadems indicated not only their leading position in a temple hierarchy, but also their association with a particular deity. he same idea was formulated by ottmar Keel in his study of terracotta and ivory depictions of females as well as textual mentions from the 2nd millennium Bc in the levant and mesopotamia (Keel 1981: 195–209, figs 6–25). he suggested that headbands of frontlets bearing diverse images, such as a rosette, cross, star, round medallion or square plaquette, may have been intended as a visual marked of the wearer's association with a given deity since at least the period in question. it follows that female wearers of this kind of head adornment in the second half of the 2nd and in the1st millennium Bc were priestesses. diadems from the second half of the 3rd millenniUm Bc With the appearance of an abundance of diferent kinds of jewelry in mesopotamia, syria and anatolia in the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc (Bar-yosef mayer, Wygnańska, Bondarenko forthcoming) diadems became more popular throughout the near east. his was the efect of, on one hand, greater accessibility of precious metals and semiprecious stones and, on the other, a growing need for adornment among representatives of increasingly complex societies. anatolia in anatolia, the practice of furnishing the dead with diadems, mostly headbands, was carried on in the later 3rd millennium Bc (a more exact dating was impossible in most cases), although the context became more diferentiated [see Table 1]. he inds came from alacahöyük (gürkan, seeher 1991: 90; Koşay 1938: pl. 82; 1951: pl. 167/1) and Kültepe (Özgüç 1986: 24, 26, figs 23, 25) in central anatolia and from the troad (Bass 1966: 93 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east 34; hickman 2008: 243–246).6 hese ornaments represent a much broader variation in execution and decoration than the earliest 3rd millennium Bc diadems and some of them do not it the category of simple-form head adornments, like the openwork headbands from alacahüyük that probably functioned as a crown (Koşay 1938: pl. 82; 1951: pl. 129; muscarella 2003: 280).7 contrary to the evidence from demircihöyük-sarıket and Küçükhöyuk, the diadems from alacahöyük were found in a restricted number of elite burials and were clearly attributes of power and elevated social position. a diferent use of simple diadems was observed, however, at Kültepe at the turn of the 3rd and in the early 2nd millennium Bc. first, only the single gold or silver headbands and frontlets occured sporadically in graves of the common inhabitants of the city (Özgüç 1986: 24, 26, figs 23, 25) [Fig. 4], but occasionally they were turned later on into unusual multi-element funeral sets covering the face (forehead, eyes and mouth) of the deceased (makowski 2011: 113–120, 238). he head ornaments consisted of thin strips of sheet metal narrowing towards the ends, very short rectangular bands and oval or rhomboidal frontlets. most were pierced at the ends and at least one example from the late 3rd millennium had zigzags of punched dots (Özgüç 1986: fig. 23).8 sets were found with adult burials in cist tombs, hence their possible association with the age of the deceased and the grave type, but otherwise it was not possible to relate their presence to other factors (makowski 2011: 211). moreover, makowski argues persuasively Fig. 4. Diadems rom the late 3rd millennium BC graves at Kültepe (Ater Özgüç 1986: Figs 23, 25) 6 7 8 perhaps also Karataş-semayük in southeast anatolia, where a silver attachment decorated with punched dots was discovered; unfortunately, no details were given of the ind (mellink 1970: 245, pl. 57, fig. 17). two of the ive diadems from alacahöyük had additional strips hanging from the headband (hickman 2008: 249), representing a speciically local tradition. he early 2nd millennium Bc examples were usually plain and they seem to have been more skillfully executed (makowski 2011: 113–120). 94 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east for a solely funerary use of the facecovering sets (makowski 2011: 118–119). it seems probable that the diadems from Kültepe, similarly as the ornaments from demircihöyük-sarıket, represented speciic local funeral practices cultivated from the end of the 3rd millennium Bc, rather than being emblematic of elevated social position. generally, diadems, mostly of gold, proliferated in anatolia in the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc, but the context seems to have become diferentiated. on the one hand, as at alacahöyük, the ornaments emphasized the high rank of the new ruling establishment of newly emerged states. on the other hand, the diadems appear to have been associated with funerary functions that were not entirely hierarchical, as at Kültepe. advances in crat specialization and easier access to precious metals permitted simple head ornaments made of precious metals to be used by non-elites. in any case, there is a strikingly persistent occurrence of simple-form head adornments of diferent shapes in anatolia in the 3rd and the 2nd millennium Bc. it could exemplify the cultivation of a deeply rooted, indigenous tradition in this part of the near east, even if its exact meaning had changed or was forgotten over time. headbands continued to be used in anatolia in the late Bronze age and they may be seen on a number of oicial hittite depictions, perhaps worn together with a textile band. hey are found on kings: tudhaliya iv from yazilikaya (scene from room 64), royal couple on an alacahöyük orthostat, muwatalli ii on a relief from sirkeli, and on the sun god in a depiction from hattuša (südburg 9 building, room 2) (vigo 2010: 312–315, fig. 15.10–17). he hittite headbands represented a local tradition and should not be linked to mesopotamian depictions. he context indicates their use as a crown. soUthern mesopotamia: frontlets and headBands from Ur in the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc simple diadems also appeared in mesopotamia. most of the known examples originated from the royal cemetery of Ur, where more than 60 of nearly 2000 graves dated to early dynastic iii (henceforth ed iiia: 2600–2450 Bc and ed iiiB: 2450–2350 Bc), akkadian (approximately 2340–2150 Bc) and the Ur iii period (2112–2004 Bc) yielded diferent forms of gold and silver head adornments.9 he best known are the very elaborate headgears made of gold and semiprecious stones that were found in only a few graves dated to the earliest phase of the ed iiia cemetery [see Fig. 10, top]. additionally, there were wreaths [see Fig. 10] and so-called brim headdresses consisting of a chain and stone beads. most of them were accompanied by gold and silver ribbons (such as in Fig. 5:F), that is, coils of long, slim metal strips (Woolley 1934: 241–245). While elaborate head ornaments are not the focus of this study, it should be noted that they were worn sometimes together with the simple diadems (see below). indeed, diferent types of head adornments were sometimes found in one burial or, to be more precise, with a particular individual. gansell observed that four discrete types of assemblages could be distinguished among the jewelry he dating of the graves sequence follows that presented in pollock 1985. 95 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east sets from ed iii graves, indicating that they must have been worn in standard conigurations (gansell 2007a).10 she further postulated that recurring jewelry assemblages signaled not only collective ailiation of the ornamented individuals buried in the cemetery, but also distinct sub-groupings of individuals (gansell 2007a: 31). it should be stressed that the richest assemblages were found only in a small number of graves and most of the burials did not contain any precious ornaments. simple gold or silver headbands and frontlets were also found already in the earliest ed iiia graves (Woolley 1934: 240–241). Unfortunately, Woolley failed to be consistent in his deinitions, referring to these two types of ornaments as diadem, frontlet, bandeau and illet.11 he headbands from Ur were narrow bands, approximately 20–32 cm long and about 2.5–4.0 cm wide, mostly with pierced rounded ends, made either of gold or silver [Fig. 5:A–C]. hey featured most oten a simple decoration of dots punched along the edges [Fig. 5:B]. here was also a headband with rounded ends from grave pg 153 that was incised with a unique ritual scene terminating in incised rosettes at the extremities and with a dot pattern punched along the edges (Woolley 1934: 299; hansen 1998: 65– 66, fig. 11) [Fig. 5:C]. it must have been a fairly precious item, considering that it 10 11 12 bears evidence of repairs in antiquity. he repairs also suggest use of the headband in life. some of the single ribbons on the forehead of various deceased could also be interpreted as a form of simple diadem. he frontlets from Ur were shorter than the headbands, measuring an average 11–14 cm in length and 3–5 cm in width.12 Woolley distinguished ive diferent types of frontlets (1934: pl. 219) [Fig. 5:D], but there was no evident correlation between particular frontlet types and other features of the burials, so it seems that such a diferentiation was not meaningful and was perhaps solely aesthetic. many of the ed iii frontlets from Ur had golden threads passing through holes pierced at their ends and were tied to the forehead (Woolley’s type 5), diferentiating them from later frontlets, which were almost always pierced at the ends, but did not have any preserved remains of wires or metal threads for fastening. his suggests that either the tie strings were of perishable material or that the later frontlets were worn in a diferent way, perhaps sewn onto a textile. a few of the frontlets as well as ixing ribbons had imprints of a “gauzelike net” on their inner side, suggesting that they had been attached to a kind of veil (Woolley 1934: 246). he frontlets without holes were probably ixed by gold ribbons [Fig. 5:F], wound around the head, as observed mostly in late akkadian and Ur iii burials (Woolley 1934: he four sets distinguished were: wreath-based adornment set including a vegetal wreath; gold and lapis lazuli chokerbased set worn together with a garment pin and string of beads; brim, usually found with daggers and thus interpreted as a male set; and set of silver ‘hair rings’, pins, strings of beads accompanied by a few other articles (gansell 2007a). a more precise, but still inconsistent description was available in many instances in appendix a: tabular analysis of graves (Woolley 1934: 411–509); consequently, the observations presented here may be burdened by error owing to unclear ornament designations. he frontlets were described by Woolley as “plates of very thin gold or silver tied across the forehead (…)” (1934: 246). curiously, in several cases he described ornaments that measured 31 cm by 0.5 cm (e.g., U. 8752) as being oval. hese were probably headbands according to the deinitions adopted in this study. 96 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Fig. 5. Simple-form head adornments rom the Royal Cemetery in Ur: A – simple headband (Ater Maxwell-Hyslop 1971: Pl. 12); B – gold illet rom grave PG 1284 (Ater Zettler, Horne [eds] 1998: Fig. 53); C – gold illet with incised ritual scene, rom grave PG 153 (Ater Zettler, Horne [eds] 1998: Fig. 11); D – ive diferent types of rontlets (Ater Woolley 1934: Pl. 219); E – rontlets rom an Ur III grave (Ater Maxwell-Hyslop 1971: Pl. 47); F – coils of a golden ribbon rom grave PG 1054 (head of central burial) (Ater Zettler, Horne [eds] 1998: 102) 97 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east pl. 218:pg/703). he frontlets were mostly plain; all those bearing decoration came from ed iii burials. in ive out of 12 ed iii burials, the frontlets were decorated with a single chased or engraved eight-petalled rosette or star (two came from the ed iii a royal burials pg 777 and pg 1054) [Fig. 5:D, type 5]. a sole oval frontlet from meskalamdug’s grave (pg 789) was incised with two half-ovals separated by a vertical line [Fig. 5:D, type 4]. he rosette frontlets were found with both males and females.13 hese decorated frontlets might have been a symbol of a direct association of the deceased with a particular deity, as was already proposed for the earlier inds from abu salabikh and mari . although the simple frontlets and headbands were more frequent and were in use longer than the sumptuous ed head adornments, they were still rare in the Ur cemetery. headbands were mostly associated with ed iiia–B burials (11) and the ed/akkadian and akkadian period burials (7), and in this form were probably absent from later burials [Table 2]; those found in the Ur iii period multiple burials (nos 1845–1851) are either described as “illet or ribbon” or their description is ambiguous and might have difered in form from the earlier examples.14 he headbands were worn in combination with other head ornaments such as brims, wreaths or ribbons [see Table 2], although such rich sets were observed only in the 13 14 15 royal burials pg 777, in pg 1054 and in puabi’s grave pg 800. more oten, however, they appeared as a separate head ornament (at least 11 burials). frontlets on the other hand were frequent in the ed iiia–B period (at least nine) and even more popular in ed iii/ akkadian and akkadian times (at least 16). hese ornaments were also common in the Ur iii multiple graves [see Table 2]. in more than 20 burials (out of the dated graves), frontlets appeared without any additional head ornaments. only in ed iii royal burials were they accompanied by brims, wreaths and ribbons. much more frequent was an association of frontlets with gold or silver ribbons that were used to position the ornament on the forehead. frontlets were found together with headbands in only four ed iii royal burials.15 hese patterns of distribution of the simple diadems do not follow in any extent the “standard conigurations” as noted by gansell (2007a) for the rich head ornaments (see note 10 above). to sum up, it may be assumed that headbands and frontlets were worn most oten separately and that they represented independent ornaments that were not directly associated with any other kind of head adornments, although they might have been worn with other head jewelry. herefore, both kinds may be perceived as elite jewelry, present both in burials of the highest rank (where these ornaments were accompanied by other rich personal sex distinction of the burials was based largely on the presence or absence of weapons in the graves as anthropological information was not always available. some of the burials from Ur have been omitted from the present discussion because of imprecise dating and insuicient data on the grave inventories, especially in case of presumably Ur iii period graves. two frontlet-headband sets originated from royal burials 777 and 1054, and were accompanied by other kinds of head adornments. in another case, the frontlet was found under a illet and it is possible that it was in fact attached with a metal ribbon. 98 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east adornment), as well as in less sumptuous graves. hus, in ed Ur, they were apparently available to various classes of the elites. Woolley observed the disappearance of rich elaborate headdresses ater the ed iii period (1934: 246f.). only the simple diadems remained in use, although the long narrow headbands with rounded ends also seem to have gone out of fashion, their place in burials being taken by shorter bands (17 cm long by 5 cm on average) with rounded ends. oval plates with extended narrow ends were also found occasionally [Fig. 5:E, two from the top and one at the bottom]. as the two kinds are occasionally diicult to classify, being something in between headbands and frontlets, it is more convenient to designate them with “diadem” as a general term. hese speciic forms appeared sometimes in sets of one or two oval diadems, or oval diadems with extended endings from the akkadian period. he elements of such complex sets were sometimes found directly on the skull, as in the case of six identical gold diadems found in tiers overlapping each other in grave pg 1422, dated probably to the Ur iii period [Fig. 5:E] (Woolley 1934: 185–187). his burial belonged to a very rich, young male buried in a clay coin with numerous weapons. in this extraordinary burial, a gold oval frontlet was also found near the hand. as said above, ater the ed period, the custom of adorning the deceased with simple diadems continued in the royal cemetery into the end of the 3rd millennium Bc. he large and rich shat graves (designated as nos 1845 to 1851) produced a collection of homogenous 16 jewelry considered by maxwell-hyslop as typical of hird dynasty workshops (1971: 68–69).16 Judging by the richness of their equipment, the deceased belonged to an elite; their heads were adorned either with gold “illet-ribbons” as described above or with oval frontlets ixed by gold ribbons twisted round locks of hair, or gold oval frontlets with extended ends. according to Woolley, this proved the existence of a consistent tradition of using simple-form diadems that continued from the ed iii period (1934: 246). however, compared to earlier periods, the practice seems to have been less common in Ur iii. finally, it should be said that gold and silver diadems were still in use in Ur, although on a very small scale, in the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc, during the isin–larsa and old Babylonian periods. merely four out of nearly 200 graves from the 2nd millennium Bc were equipped with such diadems (Woolley, mallowan 1976: 201, 204, 206, 211, pl. 97). he custom persisted despite the evident change in burial practices observed at the turn of the millennia when Ur inhabitants began to bury their dead under house loors. he silver and gold diadems in the form of an oval or rhomboidal plate or very short band (approximately 6 cm long) with rounded ends were found in only four house burials. he ornaments were pierced, but in two graves they were found placed not on the forehead, but on a brick next to the head (pg 114; pg 126, female with an infant). incidentally, these precious ornaments were not found in burials that are believed to belong to the most important persons in the family, hese graves, assigned to the akkadian period by c.l. Woolley, were not dated by s. pollock. 99 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east judging by the location of a grave within a house, grave construction type and accompanying grave equipment. he lack of association between the presence of precious head adornments and a visibly elite character of the burial suggests that diadems had far greater ceremonial than prestigious signiicance in this period. to sum up, the simple diadems from Ur were unique forms of head adornment worn from the ed iii, through akkadian and Ur iii, until the old Babylonian period. in the earlier, ed iii period, headbands and frontlets functioned as two independent ornaments. over time, either the elongated headbands were abandoned or they merged with the frontlets in form and meaning. By the end of the 3rd millennium Bc, these head ornaments had become merely variations of shape with no evident functional diferentiation. in the 2nd millennium Bc, they were apparently no longer a marker of elite burial, as if it were an ancient tradition that was being continued without remembrance of its explicit signiicance. Ur headbands from the 3rd millennium Bc resembled a type of head ornament depicted on meskalamdug’s helmet that must have been oicial headgear [Fig. 11, top let] or on sargon’s head [Fig. 11, top right]. it would be reasonable, therefore, to interpret them as a crown designating high rank, but the distribution pattern from Ur is ambiguous. earlier on, headbands were found in evidently elite burials, but the wealth of grave goods in those burials was of varying quality and value. equally so, neither of the diadem types was associated with gender, as both headbands and frontlets in the Ur graves were deposited with male as well as female adult burials regardless of period. following much later habits associated with diadems (reade 2009: 240–263), it could be presumed that they were worn in the 3rd millennium by precisely speciied members of the royal court, perhaps deined by kinship. frontlets, unlike headbands, do not have any known depictions that could point to an interpretation of their function in any direction. neither is there any evident correlation with other kinds of grave goods, grave construction and level of wealth. it should be assumed therefore that they were a form of ceremonial head decoration not exclusively associated with rank display, but possibly deining other aspects of social identity of the deceased, such as his or her familial status or ailiation with a particular group, for example, relecting dedication to a particular deity. he practice of wearing ceremonial frontlets in Ur may be paralleled by the custom of wearing gold head adornments with a tarbouche in the language of their users — being an emblem of gender, cultural ailiation, and wealth status among druze women in the syrian hauran (gansell 2007b). he tarbouche, a traditional type of headdress consisting of layered rows of gold medallions framing the hairline and a central forehead element, oten inscribed with the word “allah” sewn onto a fez with a silver disk on top of it, is an emblem of gender, cultural ailiation and wealth status among druze woman in the syrian hauran (gansell 2007b). it is perceived by the druze of the region as a visible emblem of their culture and ethnicity and, presumably acknowledging matrilineal heritage (gansell 2007b: 456). in the case of the tarbouche, the custom is restricted to women, but such limitations were hardly observed in antiquity for 100 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east wearing frontlets. assuming that at Ur frontlets served a similar purpose in lifetime and were buried in graves only in special circumstances, it could explain why a relatively small number of graves was equipped with this ornament. undecorated individuals (delougaz et alii 1967: 99, fig. 70). one wonders whether the individuals distinguished by diadems had been oicials buried with their families. Was it also meangful whether the diadem of choice was of silver or gold? hese important questions remain unanswered. diadems found at Kish resembled diadems from later phases of the royal cemetery at Ur. such ornaments, designated as “illets” in the publication, were found in only ten of 154 graves from cemetery a at Kish (mackay 1929: 178–179, pl. liX.3–4,8–9; moorey 1970). he ornaments were either rather short (approximately 10–15 cm long and 2 cm wide) rectangular bands or oval plates, plain but itted with extended, pierced endings — something between a headband and a frontlet [Fig. 6:B]. hey were very delicate, being made of extremely thin silver sheet (with the exception of one copper piece from a burial in grave 122) and were rather roughly cut, as if not intended for display. in undisturbed burials, the diadems were always found on the forehead and, to judge by traces of linen fabric at the back of at least one of the ornaments, may have been ixed to a head-covering. only two female burials yielded the typical long headbands: a gold one from Burial 306 and a silver headband from Burial 344; a diadem made of gold wire, about 2 mm in diameter, with each end turned to form a hook, came from a third female burial (Watelin 1934: 50 and pls XXiv and XXXv; for the wire diadem, mackay 1929: 179, pl. Xliii.9). he short diadems were restricted to male adult burials.17 hey usually occurred singly and only in one grave were two soUthern mesopotamia: diadems from other sites although relatively popular in the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc at Ur, diadems were still rare at other mesopotamian sites [see Table 1]. headbands were unquestionably more frequent than frontlets, although only single examples were found at given sites. in the south, in nippur and Khafaje (ed iii/ akkadian period), headbands were found in two multiple (presumably family) burials situated in domestic quarters. in both cases, the adorned individuals were adults. he nippur grave with its rich equipment and elaborate construction may be regarded as a burial of high rank where two individuals, one male and one female, were distinguished by diadems (while the others in this burial were deprived of such distinction, see mcmahon 2006: 37–38, pl. 66). one of the two nippur gold diadems took on the form of a band with a wide oval at one end, embossed with criss-crossing lines [Fig. 6:A]. assuming that the oval part was situated centrally on the forehead, then this diadem resembled the oval-shaped frontlets with extended ends from Ur [see Fig. 5:D, type 1]. he meaning of the headband from Khafaje is more enigmatic, because unlike the nippur one, it was found in a burial that was otherwise undistinguished. he adult male adorned with this silver diadem had been buried with two other, 17 he one child burial (no. 100) reported to have a short diadem was not assigned a speciic age and also contained a cylinder seal, not common in child burials. 101 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Fig. 6. Diadems rom the ED/Akkadian period: A – rom Burial 14 at Nippur (Ater McMahon 2006: Pl. 66); B – rom graves at Kish (Ater Mackay 1929/1: Pl. LIX.3–4, 8–9, redrawn by M. Momot); C – types of diadems rom Susa (Ater Tallon 1987: Fig. 64a) 102 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east of them discovered. he distribution pattern in the Kish graves suggests that the presence of the short diadems might have indicated an adult male of high rank. he occasional elongated headbands of gold and silver seem to have been reserved for exceptional female burials, perhaps also of high rank, but formally distinguished from males by a diferent form of head adornment. hus, despite the similarity to the Ur diadems, those found at Kish might have represented a diferent, local tradition. such diadems were also found at late 3rd millennium Bc susa: ten oval or rhomboidal frontlets and one band, from 9 cm to 15 cm long, made either of gold, electrum or silver, were discovered in elite burials made in clay sarcophagi [Fig. 6:C]. to recapitulate, the practice of adorning the deceased with simple diadems persisted on a limited scale into the end of the 3rd and in the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc at a handful of sites within the southern mesopotamian cultural sphere. headbands were rare and occurred mostly singly at particular sites. hey were most oten associated with burials bearing marks of prestige, although an exception from this observation was noted in the Khafaja burial. frontlets were more numerous than headbands on particular sites and, unlike at Ur, they seem to mark high rank. he two types of simple-form head adornments were rarely found at the same site, indicating a diferent function. he practice of adorning the deceased with simple diadems persisted on a limited scale in the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc in southern mesopotamia. in addition to the Ur inds, diadems from the 2nd 18 millennium are known from Uruk and tell ed-der, and include both headbands and frontlets in the form of an oval plate. at Uruk it was an elite burial of a young male adorned with a gold oval frontlet, found buried under a palace (Boehmer et alii 1995: pl. 32). at tell ed-der, at least four old Babylonian, mostly house graves, were equipped with headbands or frontlets (de meyer [ed.] 1978: 89–90; gasche 1989: 50–51, pl. 18; van lerberghe, maes 1984: 115, pl. 29:e 3,4,6). northern mesopotamia solitary inds of diadems, usually headbands, were found in burials of the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc in tell Beydar, tell Bi’a and mari in northern mesopotamia.18 headbands were found in richly equipped burials. he one from tell Beydar, interpreted as a royal grave, had an elaborate construction and prominent location (Bretschneider, cunningham 2007), whereas the more simple shat burial from tell Bi’a was located outside the city (strommenger, Kohlmeyer [eds] 1998: 102, pl. 126,13) [Fig. 7:A]. headbands and frontlets were also found in four diferent burials from 3rd millennium Bc mari. an unusually decorated diadem was found in the very rich tomb 1082 from the end of the 3rd millennium Bc ( Jean-marie 1999: 194– 195, pl. 242). it was a simple headband that could have been adorned with a plate in the shape of joining silver circles, each with a central boss, surrounded by concentric circles; a rivet, which could have joined it to the headband, was located in a band-like copper ornament from tell Jigan (ii, Kawamata 1984–1985: 187–188) was found on the mouth of the deceased, hence it could be a mouth piece rather than a headband. 103 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east the middle of the ornament [Fig. 7:B].19 a circlet with central boss and concentric circles accompanied by piercing around the perimeter was also found in this grave. his grave, similar as the earlier tomb 300 (see above), was situated in a prominent location and evidently belonged to a representative of the highest level of mari society. Both headbands deriving from the graves, although relatively simple in comparison with the elaborate Ur headgears, were clearly emblems of important functions worn by their wearers during life (although there is an almost 300 year break between the two burials). he head adornment from tomb 1082 is interpreted as having symbolic signiicance and belonging probably to a deceased priestess (nicolini 2010: 429–430). two other burials from mari with very simple, short rectangular headbands were contemporary with the rich tomb 1082. he ornaments derived from adult burials interred in elaborate grave containers in rather unostentatious locations on the site ( Jean-marie 1999: 196, pl. 251; 186–187, pl. 209). interestingly, both head ornaments were made of copper or bronze, suggesting that their role was diferent, perhaps having something to do with a non-hierarchical distinction of the deceased. mari also yielded a frontlet decorated with an eight-petalled rosette coming from a male burial dated to around 2500 Bc (nicolini 2010: 347, pls 695–696).20 it is very similar to Woolley’s type 5 from Ur, the only diference being the two palm leaves lanking a rosette that are Fig. 7. Headbands rom the second half of the 3rd millennium BC rom northern Mesopotamia: A – Tell B’ia (Ater Strommenger, Kohlmeyer [eds] 1998: Fig. 126,13); B – Tomb 1082 rom Mari, headband plus double-circle ornament which may have been attached (Ater Jean-Marie 1999: Pl. 242) 19 20 since the ornament was found separately from the diadem, although in the same grave, it might have been a separate element–from a headdress, for example. incidentally, a similar double-circle ornament from an old Babylonian grave at tell ed-der was part of an elaborate head adornment consisting of four elements: two bands and two lenticular plates (gasche 1989: 50–51, pl. 18). a similar frontlet is also mentioned from terqa (nicolini 2010: 347). 104 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east depicted on the frontlet from mari. he exact context of the grave was not given, but nicolini interpreted the ornament as having protective and funerary meaning referring to the symbolism of rosette and palm leaves at mari (2010: 347), and it may be that, as at Ur, it had rather ceremonial than rank-related connotations. it seems that mari had a long tradition of diadem use in the 3rd millennium Bc, although this use was not uniform. outside mari, simple frontlets were even more rare than headbands (with the exception of speciic frontlets in the form of a leaf, see below). two other examples, one a short rhomboidal plate and the other a crescentshaped one, came from tell Wreide in the Upper euphrates region (van loon 2001: 140, fig. 4a.5.37). he shapes are unique for northern mesopotamia, hence they may be presumed to represent speciic local customs. of them was decorated with three rows of tiny raised circles illing all the space between the border of punched dots, while the other one had nothing but punched dots along the border [Fig. 8:B]. he decoration is unparalleled among other diadems from the 3rd millennium Bc. an especially interesting feature of the eblaite diadems are unusual fastenings, embracing hooks at both ends in one case and a hook and rolled-up end in the other. a parallel for the second form derives from an unprovenanced collection of jewelry, presumed to originate from Byblos and dated roughly to the times of the fiteenth–sixteenth dynasty in egypt (1650–1580 Bc)22 (chéhab 1937: 11, pl. iii 24). he eblaite diadems may actually be partly contemporary with this collection of ornaments. he type of fastening found on the eblaite diadems also recalls a middle Bronze age (middle helladic, about 2050–1600 Bc) greek headband with a hook and a loop from asine (laineur 2009: fig. 148 ater dietz 1980: fig. 21).23 interestingly, simpleform diadems did not become popular in western syria and southern levant before the mBa. in summary, it is very clear that the use of diadems beyond southern mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium Bc is extremely rare and is represented mostly by single inds. he only exception is mari, which followed southern mesopotamian traditions in many aspects and might have also adopted Western syria simple diadems are an equally rare ind in western syria. two headbands, one silver with an attached rosette and the other made of gold and decorated with a golden circlet, were discovered at the syrian site of Umm el-marra in tomb 1, interpreted as a royal grave from around 2300 Bc (schwartz et alii 2003) [Fig. 8:A].21 two other gold headbands dated to between 2400 and 1900 Bc probably originated from ebla (musche 1992: 104/1, pl. XXXiv/1; aruz 1995: 49, ref. 7). one 21 22 23 almost identical rosette disks were found in an ed grave (tomb 300) from mari ( Jean-marie 1999: pl. 45, m 1430; see above), at tell Brak (maxwell-hyslop 1971: 31, fig. 23), tell mumbaqa (Wäler et alii 1974: 35, fig. 49) and ebla (ater musche 1992: 105). it is quite probable that these ornaments, pierced with four holes for attachment, once decorated diadems. he dating of the ornaments was based on dating of other chronologically diagnostic objects from the collection. it was suggested that all inds may derive from a robbed royal tomb in Byblos. it was standard for minoan gold ornaments to have looped ends (hiller 2009: note 24). 105 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east more extensively the concept of wearing headbands as symbols of authority and frontlets or undecorated headbands as a non-hierarchical distinction. regarding the inds from mari, as well as from Umm el-marra, the custom of adorning the deceased with headbands bearing a rosette decoration may be said to be reserved for especially important representatives of the elites. his tradition reached the 4th millennium Bc and continued long aterwards, at least into the irst half of the 1st millennium Bc, when it was employed as a royal and divine emblem reserved for kings and gods during the neo-assyrian period (oppenheim 1949; Bedal 1992; golani 2013: 73). it seems that these adornments were considered as ceremonial ornaments signaling high rank, whereas the rosettes were symbols attracting fertility and protection for a representative of authority in life and ater death (Winter 2010: 173; collon 2010: 152f.). he singularity of the inds of plain simple headbands of silver and gold Fig. 8. Headbands rom western Syria: A – probably rom Ebla (Ater Musche 1992: Pl. XXXIV/1); B – Umm el-Marra, Tomb 1 (Ater Schwartz et alii 2003: Fig. 20) 106 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east in sepulchral contexts from northern mesopotamia should be emphasized. hey were found in single graves at just a few sites and were restricted to richly equipped burials of both male and female adult individuals. interestingly, however, the unostentatious location of some of these rich graves would have hardly matched the apparent importance of the buried person. moreover, some of the distinguished deceased had elaborate grave containers, while others were buried in simple pits. he dichotomy between rich personal adornments and the modesty of burial is puzzling, leading one to think that the diadem may not have always signiied personal importance. he use of simple head adornments, both headbands and frontlets, made of ordinary metals was also noted in association with undistinguished burials. in the 2nd millennium Bc, diadems from graves in northern mesopotamia were barely attested, although assyrian reliefs leave no doubt that they remained in use in assyria as emblems of royal court ailiation (reade 2009: 243, 254, 259–260). however, in western syria and the levant, in the southern levant especially, diadems became popular during the mBa. leaf-form frontlets from the second half of the 3rd millenniUm Bc single leaf-form frontlets constituted a distinctive type of diadem, found at a small number of sites in northern mesopotamia [Table 3]. he leaves were made mostly of thin silver or gold plate and were decorated with a chased pattern imitating leaf venation. hey were usually about 10 cm long and almost always pierced at both ends. he diadem from tell arbid represents this category [Fig. 9:A], which is represented more extensively in graves dated to the late 3rd millennium Bc. he only site with a collection of such frontlets is tell Bi’a, where they were found in six burials (strommenger, Kohlmeyer [eds] 1998; see Table 3). leaves preserved in suiciently good condition to be reconstructed were linear in shape and quite similar to the example from tell arbid [Fig. 9:C]. hey were found either on the forehead or temple of the deceased, so they may have been sewn onto a headdress. all were made of very thin plate and with one exception, they were pierced at both ends, with a silver wire preserved drawn through the perforation in one specimen. he one ornament that was not pierced could have been produced for funerary use without the intention to be worn. all leaf-frontlets from this site were associated with male adult burials. all but one of the burials were found in a palatial area and most probably belonged to highranking individuals, although the quality and number of grave goods were varied. hree of the graves contained weapons. he grave from outside the palatial area was situated in a private household context, but considering that it had relatively rich grave equipment and a weapon, it may also be interpreted as belonging to a person of high standing. a single leaf-form ornament was found at tell mozan, not far from tell arbid (f. Buccellati, c. coccia in arcane data base: JZ005_002); despite the lack of 107 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east dimensions and context data, it could be identiied as a frontlet based on similarity to other leaf-shaped frontlets. it was made of silver, curved to the shape of the forehead and pierced at both ends. he leaf was more ellipsoidal in shape than the arbid example [see Fig. 9:B]. he leaf-shaped ornament from a grave at tell Wreide [Fig. 9:D] was also pierced at both ends, but unlike the other leaf-frontlets it was made of copper and had a round depression in the middle with radial lines extending from it, so the pattern did not resemble leaf venation (van loon 2001: 426, pl. 8.10.b). moreover, the ornament may have been a chest ornament rather than a frontlet, because it was found deposited on the upper part of the body. to sum up, leaf-frontlets from the close of the 3rd millennium Bc are known from a restricted number of sites in the Upper euphrates and Jezireh regions. he shape is slightly diferentiated, but since most of the leaf-shaped inds were not studied Fig. 9. Leaf-form diadems rom graves in: A – Tell Arbid (Photo A.Reiche); B – Tell Mozan (Ater F. Buccellati, C. Coccia in ARCANE data base: JZ005_002); C – Tell Bi’a (Ater Strommenger, Kohlmeyer [eds] 1998: Pls 22, 46); D – Tell Wreide (Ater van Loon 2001: Pl. 8.10.b) 108 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Fig. 10. Leaf-form ornaments: center top, queen Puabi's headdress rom the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Ater Zettler, Horne [eds] 1998: 90, Fig. 29); top, wreath of gold leaves, lapis lazuli and carnelian rom PG 1054 in the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Ater Zettler, Horne [eds] 1998: Fig. 49); bottom, types of leaf-wreaths rom the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Ater Musche 1992: Pl. XX) 109 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east by a botanist, the plant species cannot be easily determined. he frontlet from tell arbid was most likely modeled on one of three species: olive (Olea europaea l.), oleander (Nerium oleander l.) or willow (Salix sp., probably Salix subserrata Willd.).24 next to the poplar, as indicated by miller for Ur (willow and poplar leaves were identiied in puabi’s headdress, miller 2000), the willow appears to have been the most common tree and an important component of vegetation in the landscape of mesopotamia of the 3rd millennium Bc. expounding on this, idea one could imagine the willow being associated with death or lamentation, as it was portrayed much later in a Biblical psalm concerning exiled Jews who hanged their harps up on the willows (ot: psalm 137). at the present stage of research, it may be hypothesized that (willow?)-leaf frontlets played a role as a special kind of decoration for funeral purposes. he only analogy for leaf-shaped head ornaments from the Bronze age are the wreaths from the royal cemetery at Ur that were composed of various types of leaves [Fig. 10]. identiied plant forms included the leaves of willow and poplar trees, the lowering (male) and fruiting (female) branches of date-palms and, perhaps, apples (miller 2000). he Ur ornaments were composed of many leaves hanging from metal headbands. hey are older than the single leaf-frontlets, yet both kinds may be associated with a concept of adorning the deceased with speciic vegetal motifs. he wreaths 24 from Ur belonged to representatives of city leaders; the pattern of distribution of single leaf-frontlets does not always allow for an unequivocal conclusion concerning the rank of their wearers. he leaf-frontlets were associated both with elite burials (tell Bi’a – palatial area) and with less conspicuous graves (as in tell arbid). at tell Bi’a they seem to have been reserved for males, but at tell arbid the frontlet was deposited with a female individual. hus, the frontlets as precious pieces of jewelry could provide an indication of the wearers’ belonging to a kind of elite, either economic or powerrelated, but were not explicit markers of rank. he plant design may have been associated with rites of passage and these frontlets were probably intended as ritual attire for entering the netherworld. it would be appealing to envisage the leaffrontlets as modeled ater a speciic plant species that referred to both real lora and the symbolic imagery of mesopotamia. on the other hand, the perforations of the arbid diadem are torn, either accidentally or due to lifetime use, rejecting a solely funerary purpose. he application of this particular design may have also been connected with a speciic social identity of the deceased, which could have highlighted his or her marital status or ailiation with a concrete social or ethnic group during his/her lifetime. also an association with a particular god or goddess should be taken in account. Whichever the case, it is clear that not only social rank governed the use of leaf-diadems. dr. grzegorz Worobiec and dr. aldona mueller-Bieniek of the institute of Botany, polish academy of sciences in Kraków, determined the species based on photographs of the ind. 110 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east continUing tradition of simple-form diadems after the 3rd millenniUm Bc he practice of adorning the deceased with diadems, mostly frontlets, persisted on a very limited scale at some sites in the southern mesopotamian cultural sphere until the very end of the 3rd millennium Bc and into the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc. a handful of headbands are known from northern mesopotamia from the beginning of the 2nd millennium Bc. perhaps the simple mesopotamian diadem forms were replaced in time by the richly decorated headbands known from iron age depictions, such as the diadems represented on the nimrud ivories and Khorsabad reliefs (maxwell-hyslop 1971: 251–254, figs 154, 155, 157, pls 232–237; oates, oates 2001: fig. 79) or discovered in nimrud graves (oates, oates 2001: pl. 4b). he other possible explanation is that they were not deposited in graves. in anatolia, in the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc, the phenomenon of adorning the deceased with diadems also occurred with lesser frequency than before. here are no inds from later periods, but according to texts and depictions on hittite reliefs, headbands were used as attributes of kingship at least until the end of the Bronze age (vigo 2010: 307–315, fig. 15.10–17). in the mid-2nd millennium Bc, simple diadems apparently disappeared from burials in mesopotamia, but became more popular further to the west, in western syria and the southern levant, where they continued to be used until the iron age ii (950–586 Bc, ater golani 2013: 1), ater which they disappeared (golani 2013: 219). hey were also widespread in the western part of the mediterranean from the middle Bronze age and in greece until the end of the Bronze age (1900–1080 Bc), although diadems were also in use earlier in the aegean (Zavadil 2009: 99–103). evidently, the custom gained in popularity at about the same time in these regions in the southern levant as well. it seems, however, that although elite decoration with diadems might have been inluenced by mycenaean or cypriot customs, typologically, the ornaments were of near eastern origin and were descendants of a much older tradition, occurring with diferent intensity throughout the Bronze age. nevertheless, it cannot be excluded that contacts between the southern levant and greece during the late Bronze age (1550–1200 Bc, ater mazar 1992) provided the impetus for the reintroduction of this “fashion”. simple-form diadems in iconography headbands were sometimes diferent from the head ornaments found in graves. he depicted diadems are mostly very narrow, ribbon-like bands encircling the head and coifure, with no evidence of fastening (see, the band on meskalamug’s identifying simple-form diadems from ancient art with actual artifacts from the archaeological record is oten challenging. he custom of wearing simple diadems was represented in Bronze age depictions but as headbands (novák 2012: 10). hese 111 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Fig. 11. Headbands worn by males in Near Eastern iconography: top let, the gold helmet of Meskalamdug (Ater Woolley 1934: rontispiece); top right, Sargon’s bronze head (Ater Orthmann 1975: Fig. 48); bottom, Ishqi-Mari’s statue rom Mari, three views (Ater Braun-Holzinger 2007: Fig. FD18) 112 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east helmet). hey correspond probably to the elongated, but slightly broader headbands with perforations for fastening that are not always long enough to encircle the head. one of the possible explanations of this diference is that some of the ornaments from graves were substitutes for ornaments worn in life and thus difered from the originals in some details. he headbands, together with a characteristic Fig. 12. Headbands worn by females in Near Eastern iconography: top let, female musician rom a mother-of-pearl inlay rom Kish (Ater Aruz, Wallenfels [eds] 2003: 91, Fig. 50); top center, ragment of a stela rom Halawa (Ater Meyer, Pruss 1994, Pl. 28); top right, female statue presumably rom ED Lagash (Ater Aruz, Wallenfels [eds] 2003: 70, Fig. 29); bottom right, bronze igurine of a nude goddess rom Mari rom the “Treasure rom Ur” (Ater Aruz, Wallenfels [eds] 2003: 142, Fig. 82, Parrot 1968, Pl. 5 ); bottom let, terracotta plaque of a nude woman (Ater Woolley, Mallowan 1976: Pl. 76.29). 113 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east bun hairstyle, were attributes of royalty or at least markers of court status from the 3rd millennium Bc (novák 2012: 14–15). similar hairdos but worn with a schematically presented round headdress, which could be a diadem but is diicult to distinguish from a cap with broad rim, were typical of representations of the so-called “priest-king” from Uruk already at the end of the 4th millennium Bc (schmandtBesserat 1993: 201, 211; novák 2012: 13; vogel 2013: 138–145). here are several mesopotamian depictions from the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc illustrating royal use of narrow headbands, especially in combination with the bun hairdo, as for example on meskalamdug’s helmet from Ur, where a long band encircled the head and girded the bun [Fig. 11, top and center let]. an identical head adornment was also depicted on king ishqi-mari’s statue from mari, although here the headband appears to encircle the forehead only [Fig. 11, bottom]. a similar headband and coifure (bun) can be seen on a bronze head said to be of sargon [Fig. 11, top right]. here, however, the narrow band known from earlier depictions was replaced by a broader headband worn on the forehead, holding a plait, and stopping behind the ears. it is clearly neither pierced nor attached with wires, as are most of the headbands and frontlets. headbands were also worn by women, some with a similar hairdo as that of the depicted males. a narrow band girding a bun can be seen on a number of depictions from the ed iii to the times of gudea (2144–2124 Bc), for example, on the head of a female musician from a mother-of-pearl inlay from Kish [Fig. 12, top let]. a similar headband is depicted on a bronze igurine of a nude goddess from mari (deriving from the “treasure from Ur”, around 2500 Bc), who wears a narrow gold ribbon encircling her hair which is done up high [Fig. 12, bottom right]. headbands on the forehead and arranged with diferent coifures appear also on a number of other female depictions, e.g., a female statue with clasped hands, presumably from ed lagash; in this case, the woman wears a wider headband mounted on a forelock while the hair is let loose [Fig. 12, top right]. some mesopotamian terracotta igurines and plaques could also have had headbands depicted, but these are rather sketchy and it is diicult on the whole to identify the type of ornament. a plaque from the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc gives a clear frontal depiction of a female with a headband encircling the head and two locks of hair below the ornament arranged on both sides of the forehead [Fig. 12, bottom let]. headbands worn with a bun hairdo were also known outside the southern mesopotamian cultural sphere where this particular image was adapted to speciic local customs. he headbands were represented on the foreheads of female igures carrying oferings in a procession, depicted on a stele with a ritual scene from the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc from tell halawa in the Upper euphrates region in syria [Fig. 12, top center]. he iconography thus relects the signiicance of headbands as symbols of power, yet is not representative of other uses for this type of head ornaments. he depicted diadems seem to be, above all, attributes of ailiation with the royal court. here is no doubt that they were intended to be worn by individuals of high rank, members of the royal clan or even the king himself in the case of male representations. 114 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east narrow headbands were also depicted on representations of high-ranking women, perhaps belonging to the royal family, and also, in at least one instance, of a goddess. moreover, the depictions show headbands being worn as crowns by the living, not as funerary decorations. interestingly, a headband worn with the characteristic bun hairstyle occurs on depictions of individuals of both sexes that are not visibly distinguished as representatives of the royal court at the beginning of the 2nd millennium Bc. it could be that such set was not reserved for as royal insignia at this time in Babylonia (novák 2012: 14). he iconographic examples of diadems from the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc from southern mesopotamia and mari in western syria may not be numerous, but they form a consistent group and seem to be deeply rooted in the southern mesopotamian tradition. however, the concept of using them as a distinction intended for the elites could have been transferred beyond its place of origin and adapted to speciic local traditions as shown by the representation on the halawa stele, showing members of a procession wearing headbands and bun coifures in a ritual context. teXtUal soUrces on diadems ‘one gold crown’, 1 a g a 3 ku 3 –s ig 1 7 , is listed in a similar funerary context on a partly destroyed Ur iii tablet (sallaberger 1995).27 he receiver of the git was not mentioned, but sallaberger was of the opinion that this person must have been a female representative of the highest elite, probably a deceased priestess of the god nanna. he crown might have been a sign of her function. he ornament is labeled with the sumerian term a g a (‘crown’ psd a: 35–39), which was a royal insignium reserved for the gods, the king and the highest priestess. it is not clear, however, whether the object mentioned in the text was worn by the priestess in life or one that she was given specially for her burial as was the case at ebla (see below). he variety of the 3rd millennium Bc terms indicates that diadems might have had diferent forms relecting their diferent functions, here being hardly any consistency in contemporary naming of diadems, the terms referring to head adornments in ancient written sources are necessarily varied and confusing. diadems are mentioned in sumerian sources dated from the ed iii (rather seldom) to the Ur iii period, and also later in sumero–akkadian bilingual texts, and they were oten described as attributes of priesthood, kingship and divinity. head ornaments were mostly just listed and it is impossible to identify their shape on this basis. occasional mention of diadems in a funerary context seems especially appropriate in the context of the interpretation of diadems from graves. in an ed text from adab enumerating funerary furnishings for the temple-administrator of Kesh, two terms appeared: m en–kù (‘silver crown’) and ke šda (‘headband’) (foxvog 1980).26 26 27 a gold “a-aga kù-gi”, probably a diadem or a crown, is listed in an akkadian text from nippur, perhaps in a similar context (18 n 106 = im 114992, Biggs 2006: 167, especially note 7). he term à g a was associated with the broad rim textile royal head cover (sallaberger 1995: 16). his could indicate perhaps that head ornaments were attached to a textile headdress. 115 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east even if buried simultaneously with the same individual. all three sumerian terms: a g a , m en and ke šda , were translated in antiquity (from the 2nd millennium Bc on) as one akkadian term agû, meaning ‘crown of gods’, ‘an insign of rank’, ‘crown of kings’, ‘circle’, 6 'circular shape’ (cad a1 135a).28 he terms were sometimes equated in meaning in ancient lexical lists, but more oten than not, the cuneiform texts enlisted at least two of these terms to designate separate head ornaments.29 he precise meaning of a g a , m en and ke šda in the 3rd millennium Bc was actually not identiied according to the sumerian dictionary. hypothetically, in the 3rd millennium Bc, all three terms could have referred to the various shapes of diadems that are known from burial contexts. he diferentiation may have not been evident already at the turn of the millennium and these words were understood solely as a designation of a crown. signiicantly, in funerary texts of the 3rd millennium Bc all three terms for a crown were used in association with burials of members of the highest elite: a temple oicial and a priestess, indicating that they were privileged to wear this kind of distinction. according to the cuneiform sources, a g a , m en, ke šda were used during life and they were enlisted as funerary gits. We still cannot be sure if items put in graves were the same as those used in life. heir enumeration on lists of funerary furnishings may mean that they were special ornaments intended for the grave only and it is these items that have been preserved in archaeological context. diadems from the southern mesopota28 29 mian texts could have indeed been used as funerary jewelry, relecting ornaments used in life. diverse types of jewelry have been recorded in several 3rd millennium texts from ebla: annual or monthly deliveries for royal spouses and high-ranking priestesses on the occasion of marriage, ordination or death. among the gold ornaments, we ind two that could denote diadems: šamu and tibarnum, always listed one ater the other. he purpose of such gits was to highlight the rank of the receiver. he texts provide a piece of important evidence concerning diadem use: in ebla, marriage and death were not distinguished by diferent types of gits; clothes and jewels which ladies received on the occasion of marriage or ordination were exactly the same as those destined to adorn them in burial. interestingly, the items ofered for the funeral were not the objects they had actually used when alive (archi 2002: 178–179). Both kinds, šamu and tibarnum, usually weighed only 8 g. it would be very informative to compare these with the weight of the diadems found in graves, but the dataset is usually lacking in this respect. to the author’s knowledge, weight was recorded only in the case of one of the mBa gold headbands from megiddo (loud 1948: pl. 227/2 and see remarks on the table preceding pl. 227). his simple narrow headband weighed only 4 grams, half the weight of the eblaite diadems. it would suggest that the head ornaments for the ladies of ebla were more solid or more richly decorated — and more precious — than the “usual” diadems. he term m e n is also translated as akkadian mēnu, the meaning of which is identical with agû (cad m/2 19a). for example, in the old Babylonian text: “the holy crown (m e n ) already existed, but the holy tiara (a g a ) did not yet exist” (marriage of martu); for other examples, see cad a1 135a. 116 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east as “a metal tongue (that is added) in front of lupan(n)i” and such an expression could denote a diadem or a part of it, attached to a piece of cloth placed on the forehead. Lupan(n)ni seems to be associated with religious contexts and should be perceived as a distinctive luxury object (vigo 2010: 310–311). it also appears in inventory texts as part of a precious tribute ofered on particular ceremonial occasions in the presence of the royal couple, and was even used as an accessory for the sun god. he headband, sometimes adorned with jewels or thin metal layers and ixed on the forehead, is thus interpreted as a head adornment of hittite priests or priestesses, perhaps even worn by rulers to legitimize their simultaneous role of high priest (vigo 2010: 310–311). a term denoting a textile headband occurs in sumerian (túg b ar- si ) and akka-dian (parš/sīgu) texts. such textile head-bands were worn by representatives of diferent social classes regardless of gender, but they seem to be functional headgear rather than a status marker (novák 2012: 11). in late Bronze age anatolia, hittite inventory texts contained references to headbands. in his study of linen, matteo vigo (2010) proposed to interpret the term lupan(n)i in a speciic context as “fabric worn on the head”, associating it with the sumerogram em e , translated literally as “tongue”. he term is deined sometimes as being made of gold, silver, “black iron” or bronze. in vigo’s opinion, the term from the hittite texts “eme gab lu-pa-an-ni-eš” can be translated discUssion simple-form diadems: headbands and frontlets, appeared in the near east as early as the late 4th millennium Bc and continued in use in funerary context until at least the 2nd millennium Bc (with iconographic evidence for a continuing tradition in the 1st millennium Bc). finds deriving from graves were most common in mesopotamia in the second half of the 3rd millennium, whereas in the southern levant diadems were used with greater frequency in the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc. headbands were more widespread than frontlets of diferent shapes (which were rare) mostly in southern mesopotamia. he number of diadems at individual near eastern sites difers. at sites from the chalcolithic and the early 3rd millennium Bc, diadems were singular inds. hey became relatively more frequent, both as frontlets and as headbands, in the second half of the 3rd millennium Bc, when their presence in burials grew, especially in southern mesopotamia. still, even in the case of sites such as Ur, Kish, elamite susa and the anatolian demircihöyük-sarıket, where diadems were relatively popular, their frequency in burials was below 10% of all contemporary graves. his suggests that even if diadems were not always a hierarchical distinction, their use was somehow restricted at all times. he diferentiated character of burial ind contexts indicates that diadem function was not uniform. any interpretation of the signiicance of these ornaments has to consider the direct context of a ind. many of the diadems, headbands in particular, were found in apparently elite burials. however, some of the graves containing head ornaments, although rich, were located in unostentatious places that 117 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east hardly corresponded to the presumed importance of the deceased. moreover, some of the diadem wearers had elaborate grave containers, while others were buried in simple pits. his dichotomy between the occurrence of a diadem and the apparent modesty of a burial is oten confusing. it may suggest that the location was not of crucial importance in expressing status or that the choice of an inconspicuous place was dictated by circumstances that escape modern interpretation. moreover, grave form may have been imposed by factors other than those representing elevated status. But even so, the interpretation of diadems as emblems of important, presumably oicial function is also sometimes clearly not suicient. some of the adorned individuals may not have been high-ranking oicials, but their distinctive personal adornment conveyed a diferent message, associated with the horizontal aspect of their individual social identity, particular circumstances of death, manifestations of a ritual associated with entering the aterlife or the wearer's dedication to a speciic deity. it is apparent that diferent regions or even particular sites had their own local traditions of diadem use. at sites in western anatolia in the eB ii, headbands and frontlets seemed to play an important role as adornment associated with the rite of passage and accessible to all members of the community, men and women, adults and children, rich and poor. later, the custom of adorning the deceased with diadems was still practiced in eBa anatolia, but was intended predominantly as a marker of elite status. at Ur, where both the headbands and the frontlets occurred at the same time, the two elements might have had diferentiated functions. narrow headbands discovered in elite ed iii burials were presumably used as emblems of high rank. his interpretation is corroborated by eBa mesopotamian iconography depicting kings and important individuals wearing such headbands together with a characteristic bun. however, not all elite burials were equipped with headbands which could have been reserved for a particular group of people representing the class in power. he frontlets, also relatively common at Ur in the 3rd millennium Bc, were mostly found in richly equipped burials of varying status; they are not known from iconographic sources and it is possible that they were associated with aspects of social identity other than rank, or they may have represented ritual decoration applied especially on funeral occasions. he tradition of adorning the deceased with simple diadems persisted at Ur for at least 600 years, until the irst half of the 2nd millennium Bc, but the meaning inherent in it evidently changed over time. southern mesopotamian cuneiform sources also mention the use of diferent kinds of head adornments made of precious metals as ornaments suitable for burial. an exception in this regard were the eBa ebla texts, which mentioned at least two diferent types of head ornaments that were necessary as gits at decisive points in the life and death of female elite representatives, points that may be deined as related to the rites of passage. We do not know if the eblaite šamu and tibarnum were also used in other, more everyday and less ceremonial situations. according to the surviving written sources, the use of such adornments was evidently limited to the highest social sphere. But, as evidenced by archaeological inds, the wearing of 118 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east diadems crossed the boundaries of social divisions. presumably, those who could aford it emulated the concept of adorning themselves or their relatives for the crucial moments of life or death. such speciic ceremonial behavior as adorning with ornaments made of thin golden foil attached to a garment for the most special occasions during a lifetime may be observed in diferent parts of the modern world. for example, this custom is still noted in indonesia. he parallel may be very distant, both geographically and chronologically, however it exempliies the use of similarly made, delicate ornaments. golden headband and lowers adorn the forehead of a bride and of the women heading the wedding procession; gold lowers and plates also adorn the robes of the bride, the participating women, as well as the groom, as illustrated in this photo from western sumatra [Fig. 13].30 in addition, ornaments of limsy golden foil are attached to headdresses and garments for diferent kinds of ceremonies performed at the royal court in Java. hey Fig. 13. Wedding ceremony in western Sumatra (Photo M. Szymańska-Ilnata) 30 i am grateful to maria szymańska-ilnata for drawing my attention to the application of golden ornaments on sumatra, Java and Bali and for permission to use the image; according to szymańska-ilnata, nowadays at sumatra, gold jewelry has been replaced by less precious materials, but golden ornaments from an earlier time can still be seen in museums. 119 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east are also worn by performers of traditional Javanese dances. he Balinese dancers adorn their heads with such delicate ornaments. although the ornaments are fragile and not always well made, they are used during important private or public celebrations to highlight a change of status or engagement in performing a ritual. such ornaments are perceived as traditional ethnic jewelry, but they are not rank markers. many of the diadems described here were interpreted by the excavators as elements of the funerary outit. heir extreme thinness and limsiness, and oten even careless manufacture suggest that the ornaments were not intended for everyday use and display. although the concept of an exclusively funerary purpose for the diadems is sustainable, the low quality of their execution is not necessarily an argument against their everyday use. he ebla texts describe head ornaments as weighing only 8 g. although heavier than the simple headband from megiddo, as indicated above, they still must have been quite delicate. yet we know that they were not destined solely for the funeral. moreover, the modern ceremonial gold ornaments from Java and Bali are also so thin that they are very susceptible to crushing and bear traces of folding (m. szymanowskailnata, personal communication). here is also the issue of how the diadems were ixed to the head; almost all of them were pierced and it seems probable that they were fastened to a piece of cloth, a textile band or some sort of headgear. indeed, some of the diadems bear traces 31 of the textile to which they had been fastened. such diadems, ixed to headgear or a textile headband, might have easily been worn in life. sometimes, however, the arrangement of the ornaments in the grave suggested that they had decorated special burial shrouds and were not an element of the everyday outit. he latter could be true also of leaf-frontlets, if it is accepted that their design might have destined them for funerary dress is correct. he application of diadems as ceremonial ornaments at crucial moments in life or their limited use as exclusively funeral decoration seems to have difered depending on the site and period, indicating that there was no standard practice. observations on the use of head ornaments by modern inhabitants of the near east, as described by gansell (2007b), inspire interpretations of the role of ancient simple-form diadems.31 various head ornaments were shown in this research to adorn the bride during wedding ceremonies. heir role was to embellish and protect. not all ostentatious elements of a tarbouche are visible in public, the headdress being covered by a scarf, but the community is aware nonetheless who among them owns a tarbouche. he tradition of wearing it has long roots and the ornaments are believed to have been passed on from generation to generation. however, today brides sometimes borrow a tarbouche from female relatives for important occasions and only a few women continue to wear the ornament as their own property (gansell according to gansell, it was irene Winter who irst noticed the similarity between loral headdresses worn in the 1930s by syrian brides from the anti-lebanon mountain region and those found in the ancient royal cemetery at Ur (gansell 2007a). 120 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east 2007b: 456). gansell’s description may be a clue toward understanding why diadems are so unique in the archaeological record. she noted that sometimes contemporary ceremonial jewelry formed a collection shared by village women and thus did not equate to private wealth as such. he number of such items would have always been restricted. assuming that some of the ancient diadems were not high-rank insignia, they would have seldom been buried in graves because they were not personal belongings, but were handed down generations in a family. circumstances not readily evident to archaeologists would have been responsible for a diadem being deposited in a grave. gansell also noted that although wearing a head adornment was not directly associated with the high status of an individual, an abundance of such decoration did relect a form of family or community status. hese conclusions also seem applicable to ancient simple-form diadems. although head adornments of precious metal signify status, this kind of wealth display does not necessarily relect individual economic circumstances. BacK to the tell arBid leaf-frontlet for a conclUsion diadems like the leaf-frontlet from the end of the 3rd millennium Bc from tell arbid belonged to a category of adornment that did not automatically relect an individual's high social rank connected with wealth or power, but rather personal status, adherence to a speciic group — secular or cultic — or speciic circumstances of death. We may hypothesize that the diadem wearer from tell arbid represented a wealthy family which could aford a gold ornament. it is not quite clear whether the diadem was her (or her family’s or community’s) ceremonial jewelry or was intended as personal funeral adornment. he diadem-wearer from tell arbid with her set of metal jewelry was interred in a simple pit in an indistinctive place. he diadem itself was unique, but otherwise there were no evident traces of special rank of the deceased. it may be presumed to be a form of ceremonial adornment used either to relect her personal status (for example, young and married or mother to a child) or peculiar and unknown circumstances of the transition to an aterlife or her exceptional relationship with a deity as it has been proposed for the other frontlets. his provides insight into a custom practiced by a community from a site which it would be tempting to interpret as part of a regional tradition observed also at neighboring tell mozan. one might hypothesize that the custom echoed a group (ethnic?) ailiation. he end of the 3rd millennium Bc at tell arbid was actually a very speciic period, the last moment before a transition from the eBa to the mBa which also included a shit from city to village (Wygnańska 2012). Burial customs changed at the beginning of the 2nd millennium Bc, mirroring a new social structure of the local community. people wealthy enough to be able to meet the expense of depositing a gold ornament in the grave were gone by this time. 121 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 1. Diadems rom Near Eastern sites of 4th and 3rd millennium BC date discussed in the text Site abu Salabikh southern mesopotamia alacahöyük anatolia arslantepe anatolia quantity category/shape Material dimensions 1 headband, thin, with two rosettes silver no data 5, one per individual burial headbands, plain and with openwork decoration gold no data coppersilver alloy l. 23 cm; W. 3 cm gold no data silver, gold, copper l. 1.5 cm–12 cm 3, one per in- headbands, decorated, dividual bu- with a speciic fastening rial Byblos mediterranean coast demircihöyükSarıket anatolia ebla Western syria several headband, plain with pierced rounded ends mostly 1, seldom 2 per individual Bands; short bands; burial; alto- ellipsoidal plates gether 47 burials 2 headbands with hook-andloop fastening gold no data 1 headband, fragmentary silver no data 11, one per individual burial (two in one grave only) headbands ("illets"), short, rectangular, oval with extended ends; bands, long rectangular; diadem, rounded wire gold, silver, seldom copper l. 10.4 cm–15.5 cm; W. 1.4 cm–7.2 cm headband: l. 28.5 cm, W. 1.4 cm 1 headband, plain with pierced rounded ends silver no data several Bands; short bands; ellipsoidal plates gold, copper alloy no data khafaje southern mesopotamia kish southern mesopotamia korucutepe anatolia kücükhöyük anatolia 122 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 1. continued Remarks context dating Reference headband over the head with the rosettes by each ear grave 1, single female (?) burial (no weapon); shat grave dug in room 39 of the southern Unit (presumed administrative temple building), with grave markers on the room loor ed ii (2800– 2600 Bc) martin et alii 1985: 12, 19–37 four diadems on the heads of the deceased, one in front of the face elite graves second half of 3rd millennium Bc muscarella 2003: 280 Beginning of 3rd millennium Bc frangipane et alii: 2001 graves late 4th millennium Bc chéhab 1950: pl. 1; musche 1992: 62, taf. X adult and child burials in a cemetery 2700–2400 Bc seeher 2000: 61–62, pl. 19.5–8 out of context presumably second half of 3rd millen- musche 1992: 104/1, nium Bc or 2nd pl. XXXiv/1 millennium simple pit burial (grave 92) with remains of three individuals inside a house ed/akkadian period (second half of 3rd millennium Bc) one headband from an elite adult male burial, two elite burial with sacriicial headbands adorning ado- victims lescent sacriicial victims buried in the grave found near the skull of a male individual delougaz et alii 1967: 99, fig. 70 seven male burials (one child); three female burials elite burials 21, 77, 87, 93, 100, with two long headbands 122, 127, 134, 135, 136 and one wire diadem mackay 1929: 178–179, pl. ed/ akkadian (second half of 3rd liX.3–4,8–9; Watelin 1934: 50, millennium Bc) pl. XXXiv–XXXv; moorey 1970 headband with beads on it, lying in front of a skull; series of bone beads encircling the head below the headband female (16–21 years); elite burial with rich funerary equipment, in a mud-brick cist around 3000 Bc van loon 1973: 360–361, pl. 5(1) no data 2700–2400 Bc efe, fidan 2006: 22 123 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 1. continued Site kültepe quantity category/shape 1 Band: long, rectangular, decorated with punched circ- silver les, lines and zigzags Material 37 cm 1 plaque, ellipsoidal silver no data several long rectangular bands, short bands very short bands with rounded ends, disks silver, gold long bands: l. 21–25, W. 2–3 cm short bands: l. 5–16 cm, W. 2–3 cm very short bands: l. 1.5–5 cm, W. 2–3 cm 1 Band, fragmentary, decorated with seven repoussé rosettes gold l. approx. 15 cm; W. approx. 2.5 cm 1 Band, short (not encircling the head) with rectangular ends copper or bronze no data 1 Band, short (not encircling the head) with rectangular ends copper or bronze no data 1 headband with rounded ends; silver double-circle ornament found separately gold l. 35 cm; W. 2 cm 1 frontlet, lenticular with chased rosette and palm leaves motifs, pierced at the ends gold no data 2, one per individual burial headbands, one plain, the other one with a wide oval at one end, faintly embossed with crisscrossing lines gold 1) l. 20 cm; W. 0.8 cm; 2) l. 29 cm; W. 1.3 cm 1 plate, oval gold no data 11, one per individual burial frontlets, oval and rhomboidal, with narrowing endings gold or electrum l. 10–15 cm 1 headband? silver no data anatolia Mari northern mesopotamia Nippur southern mesopotamia Susa iran dimensions tell Beydar northern mesopotamia 124 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 1. continued Remarks context dating Reference house burial end of 3rd millennium Özgüç 1986: 24, fig. 23 house burial end of 3rd millennium Özgüç 1986: 26, fig. 25 non-elite graves first half of the 2nd millennium Bc Özgüç 1986: pls 63–66 grave 300: elite female burial in a mud-brick chamber in the courtyard of the ishtar temple 2600 Bc Jean-marie 1999: 133, pl. 45; nicolini 2010: 85–86, pls 1–3 tomb 1095; female burial in a double jar end of 3rd millennium Bc Jean-marie 1999: 196, pl. 251 tomb 1023; male burial in sarcophagus end of 3rd millennium Bc Jean-marie 1999: 186v187, pl. 209 found near the skull, may have been decorated with a double circle ornament attached to it tomb 1082; female adult buried in a pit with a rich set of personal ornaments, including a seal; grave located in area f west of the palace end of 3rd millennium Bc Jean-marie 1999: 194, pl. 242; nicolini 2010: 86–87 frontlet curved to it the forehead tomb iXn24 sot-1, male burial about 2500 Bc (dated to "ville 1/2") nicolini 2010: 347, pls 695–697 found with two individuals, male and female, buried contemporaneously Burial 14 in domestic area, multiple burials, multi-phase use ed/akkadian period (second half of 3rd millennium Bc) mcmahon 2006: 37–38, pl. 66 found with the female burial double pit burial 3B 20a–B, tB iv2 of a man and woman facing one another; relatively rich burial (with set of jewelry and vessels) end of 3rd millennium Bc mccown et alii 1967: 141–142 elite sarcophagi burials end of 3rd millennium Bc tallon 1987: 276– 279, figs 1176–1185 royal burial under the palace temple a late akkadian (second half of 3rd Bretschneider, cunningham 2007 millennium Bc) found in sets probably covering face faint traces of a probable silver band on the forehead of one burial 125 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 1. continued Site quantity category/shape Material dimensions 1 headband, pierced along the border copper or bronze l. 53 cm; W. 3.6 cm 2 sets, one per burial plates and bands, multi-element set gold or electrum, silver 1) l. 22.5 cm; W. 2 cm; 2) l. 18.5 cm; W. 6.2 cm; 3) l. 9.6 cm; W. 2.75 cm; 4) l. 9 cm; W. 4.9 cm silver no data tell Bi’a northern mesopotamia tell ed-der northern mesopotamia 2, one per individual bu- headbands or frontlets rial tell Jigan northern mesopotamia 1 Band with narrowing ends (mouthpiece?) copper l. approx. 10 cm; W. approx. 1 cm tell Wreide 1 plate, rhomboidal silver l. 6.8 cm; W. 2.7 cm 1 frontlet, crescent-shaped silver no data 1 headband, plain with pierced ends gold l. 34.4 cm 1 frontlet, with rosette gold no data 1 headband with punched-dot decoration gold no data 1 Band with circlet gold l. 32 cm; W. 2 cm 2 Bands, accompanied by a rosette disk silver l. 32 cm; W. 2 cm 1 frontlet, oval gold no data northern mesopotamia tepe gawra mesopotamia terqa mesopotamia troad (site unknown) anatolia umm el-Marra Western syria uruk southern mesopotamia 126 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 1. continued Remarks context dating Reference second half of 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlmeyer (eds) 1998: 102, pl. 126,13 multiple family burial t.261, found with the female burial; double adult burial t 146 first half of 2nd millennium Bc gasche 1989: 50–51, pl. 18; de meyer et alii 1978: 89–90 two graves in sondage a: adult burial t 91 and male adult burial t 191 first half of 2nd millennium Bc de meyer (ed.) 1978: 89–90; van lerberghe, maes, 1984: 115, pl. 29: e 3,4,6 found on the mouth of the deceased. he shape of the band is quite diferent from the ovals with narrowing ends known from Ur no data second half of 3rd millennium Bc ii, Kawamata 1984– 1985: 187–188, fig. 21 found on the forehead grave t Wreide d: elite male burial with weapons and multiple metal personal ornaments 2400–1900 Bc van loon 2001: 140, fig. 4a.5.37 tomb U 2400–1900 Bc van loon 2001: 181–183, fig. 4a.7B.9 grave in locus 47: infant burial in unique stone-covered grave (libn type), over 1 m below the loor in a room of the stratum iX temple approximately 3800–3600 Bc (level viii/ iX) tobler 1950: 116–117 out of context no date given in the reference nicolini 2010: 347, pls 695–696 Unprovenanced second half of 3rd millennium Bc Bass 1966: 34 tomb 1: multi-phase elite burial (top level) 2450–2300 Bc schwartz et alii 2003 tomb 1: multi-phase elite burial (middle level) 2450–2300 Bc schwartz et alii 2003 Burial 52, young male buried under the palace first half of 2nd millennium Bc Boehmer et alii 1995: pl. 32 found below the skull, but richly equipped shat burial of green traces observed on a mature woman (grave U40) the forehead bones in extramural cemetery f found undisturbed on the head of the infant 127 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 2. Simple-form diadems rom Ur (information on material, dimensions and inventory number given where available); W – weapons ; S – seals; * – description not clear; TAG – Tabular Analysis of Graves [in:] Woolley 1934 grave No. Headbands: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Frontlets: material/dimensions/ inv. No. 159 diadem(?), silver* – 777 gold (U. 9787) oval decorated with star, gold: ring wreath, gold; l. 11.5 cm, W. 6.5 cm brim,ribbons, lower (U. 9781) diadem, comb, silver 789 – decorated with impressed lines parallel to the edges, gold (U. 10558) headdresses of wreaths and ribbons, combs, brim, gold 800 fillet(?), silver* diadem(?), silver* Wreath, gold and silver; brim, gold; ribbons, silver 1054 gold: 36 x 0.6 cm (U. 11735) oval decorated with eightpointed star, gold, remains of wire: l. 11 cm, W. 5.5 cm (U. 11906) Wreath, brim, ribbons, gold 1178 silver diadem – – 1237 – silver (U. 12360) Wreath, brim, ribbons 1266 holes pierced along the edges, gold: l. 30 cm, W. 4 cm (U. 12126) – ribbon 1284 – frontlet(?), gold, pierced holes along the edges* (U. 12184) plaited ribbon, gold 1312 gold with gold wire and carnelian bead as button, chased rosette decoration (U. 12256) – Wreath of leaves identiied as beech, brim, gold 1618 Bandeau, gold (U. 13790) – – 1750 – oval with elongated ends, engraved eight-petalled rosette, Brim gold: l. 11 cm, W. 3.6 cm (U. 14315) 1335 – oval, gold: l. 11 cm, W. 0.4 cm (U. 12343) plaited ribbon, gold 1181 silver – Brim, silver 55 fillet, fairly thick strip with miniature holes pierced along the edges, gold: l. 37 cm, W. 0.7 cm (U. 8003) – – Other head ornaments: material ed iii period (2600–2350 Bc) comb, wreath 128 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 2. continued context/remarks dating References rich jewelry; s ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG royal burial; W + s? ed iiia Woolley 1934: 53f., pls 3, 5–6, 22–23 King’s burial; W + s ed iiia Woolley 1934: 62f., pls 3, 29–35 puabi’s grave; oval silver frontlet with extended ends from attendant woman; W + s ed iiia Woolley 1934: 73f., pls 36–43, 219 royal burial; W + s? ed iiia Woolley 1934: 97f., pls 8, 49–57 rich equipment; W ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG royal burial/death pit; W + s ed iiia Woolley 1934: 113f., pls 3, 8, 69–77 hree bodies, rich equipment; s ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG rich jewelry ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG royal burial; W ed iiia Woolley 1934: 128f., pl. 80 s ed iiia Woolley 1934: TAG – ed iiiB Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; s ed iiiB? Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W ed iii Woolley 1934: TAG ed iii period (2600–2350 Bc) 129 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 2. continued grave No. Headbands: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Frontlets: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Other head ornaments: material 1089 – oval, 1 gold (U. 11594); 1 silver: l. 11 cm, W. 3 cm – 1320 silver – Brim,ribbons, silver 1403 – silver ribbons, gold 263 pierced along the edges, silver: l. 18 cm, W. 2.2 cm (U. 8524) – Wreath of ring pendants, ribbons, gold transitional ed iii/akkadian period 697 oval, gold: l. 26 cm, W. 0.35 cm (U. 9763) – – 1065 holes pierced along the edges, gold (U. 11521) – – 1400 – ring-shaped, silver – 788 – gold, two (U. 9895) – 902 – elliptical, gold: l. 9.5 cm, W. 3 cm (U. 11206) – akkadian period (2340–2150 Bc) 703 – oval, gold: l. 11 cm, W. 4 cm (U. 9810) ribbon, gold 1199 – oval, gold: l. 14 cm, W. 5.5 cm (U. 11991) plaited ribbons, gold 563 – oval, gold: l. 11 cm, W. 4 cm (U. 9307) – 717 – oval with extended ends, gold (U. 9824) – 1163 silver – – 35 – oval, gold: l. 15 cm, W. 3 cm (U. 7951) ribbon, gold 396 oval, gold: l. 31 cm, W. 0.5 cm (U. 8752) – – 635 – oval, gold, two examples: l. 14, W. 0.3 cm (U. 9554, U. 9555) coiled ribbons, silver 871 – frontlet(?), gold, oval with holes pierced along the edges (U. 10754)* plaited ribbons, gold 704 – oval, gold: l. 9 cm, W. 2.7 cm (U. 9705) plaited ribbon, gold 130 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 2. continued context/remarks dating References – ed iii Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; s ed iii Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; s ed iii Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W ed iii? Woolley 1934: TAG,150 transitional ed iii/akkadian period rich equipment; W + s ed iii/akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG, 154 – ed iii/akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; s ed iii/akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG, 175 rich equipment; s ed iii/akkadian? Woolley 1934: TAG W ed iii/akkadian? Woolley 1934: TAG akkadian period (2340–2150 Bc) rich equipment; W early akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG early akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W middle akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W middle akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG W+s middle akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; W middle/late akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG middle/late akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG W+s middle/late akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG – middle/late akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG – late akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG 131 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 2. continued grave No. Headbands: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Frontlets: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Other head ornaments: material 543 silver – – 734 – (U.9863) Brim, gold 825 fillet, rectangular, gold: l. 30 cm, W. 2.7 cm oval with extended ends, gold ribbon, gold 829 – oval, gold, two examples: l. 12 cm, W. 3.3 cm (U. 11102) ribbons, gold 965 – oval, gold: l. 12 cm, W. 3.3 cm (U. 11422) 1130 pierced holes along the edges, gold: l. 35 cm, W. 0.3 cm (U. 11772) ring wreath, animal diadem, ribbons, gold uR iii period (2112–2004 Bc) 1422 – oval with extended ends, gold, six examples: l. 17 cm, Brim W. 5 cm (U. 12463– U. 12464); one oval, gold 1845 – oval with extended ends, gold: l. 13.5 cm, W. 4.5 cm (U. 15319) 1846 fillet, plain, gold (U. 15311)* oval with extended ends, gold* 1847/ Burial group f fillet, narrow, gold – twisted ribbon 1847/ Burial group g fillet, very thin twisted wire – – 1847/ Burial group m – oval* ribbon 1847/ Burial group p – oval, gold twisted ribbon 1847/ Burial group r – gold, three examples twisted ribbon spirally twisted ribbon across the head, gold (Burials J and K) 132 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 2. continued context/remarks dating References rich equipment; W + s akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG s akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG frontlet found under illet; rich equipment; W + s akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG s akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG akkadian Woolley 1934: TAG, 165 akkadian? Woolley 1934: TAG, 165 very rich equipment; W + s uR iii period (end of 3rd millennium Bc) six frontlets on the forehead; one found by the hand of the deceased akkadian? Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG pit with several burials on diferent levels; frontlet found with Burial m; rich jewelry; s Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG,187f., pl. 9 pit with several burials on diferent levels; rich equipment; W + s Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG, 190f. pit with several burials on different levels; rich equipment Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG,192f., 594, pls 82–86 – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG 133 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 2. continued grave No. Headbands: material/dimensions/ inv. No. Frontlets: material/dimensions/ inv. No. 1847/ Burial group s fillet, gold oval with extended ends, gold, twisted ribbon two examples (U. 17816) 1847/ Burial group t fillet, gold With extended ends, gold, four twisted ribbon examples (U. 17815) 1850/ Burial 08 – oval with extended ends spiral ribbon 1850/ Burial 09 – oval, two examples – 1850/ Burial 13 – oval with extended ends, two examples – 1850/ Burial 14 fillet or narrow ribbon* – – 1851/ Burial fillet or twisted ribbon, gold (U. 17912)* – – Other head ornaments: material dating uncertain 153 rectangular with rounded edges, holes pierced along the edges, gold (U. 8173) – – 389 – oval, gold: l. 18 cm, W. 6 cm, rosette with impressed lines/ wires (U. 8913) – 465 – l. 10 cm, W. 3.5 cm (U. 8790) – 673 – silver plaited ribbons, gold 1006 fillet, silver – – 1071 – oval, silver: l. 11 cm, W. 3 cm – 1183 silver – – 1464 – oval with extended ends, gold (U. 13508) – 134 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 2. continued context/remarks dating References – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG, pl. 211 – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG, 199f., 596 – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG – Ur iii? Woolley 1934: TAG dating uncertain rich equipment; W ? Woolley 1934: TAG, pl. 299 s ? Woolley 1934: TAG s ? Woolley 1934: TAG rich jewelry; W ? Woolley 1934: TAG rich jewelry ? Woolley 1934: TAG s ? Woolley 1934: TAG rich equipment; s ? Woolley 1934: TAG s ? Woolley 1934: TAG 135 pam 23/2: special studies Zuzanna Wygnańska near east Table 3. Leaf-form rontlets rom Near Eastern sites of the 3rd millennium discussed in the text Site quantity & Frontlet shape Material dimensions Remarks 1 linear gold l. 9.5 cm; W. about 1.3 cm at the widest point 1 linear? (fragment) silver l. 6.6 cm; W. 2 cm 1 linear silver l. 9.4 cm; W. 2.8 cm 1 linear (fragment) silver l. 5.4 cm; W. 3.3 cm 1 linear? (fragment) silver l. 3.8 cm; W. 2.1 cm heavily corroded 1 linear? (fragment) silver no data heavily corroded 1 linear? (fragment) silver no data heavily corroded tell Mozan 1 ovate silver no data tell Wreide 1 rhomboidal leaf-form plate copper (diadem?) tell arbid tell Bi’a no data not pierced Unusual form: round depression in the middle with lines radiating from it; found on the upper body 136 pam 23/2: special studies tracing the “diadem Wearers”: an inquiry into the meaning of simple-form head adornments... near east Table 3. continued context date References Burial in grave g1/52/54/09 late 3rd millennium Bc Bieliński 2012: 519–520, fig. 9.B shat grave 17/35:4; male adult buried with rich equipment and a weapon in a shat grave near a household on hill B late 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlmeyer (eds) 1998: 15–16, 22, pls. 7,2; 15,22; 220 grave 25/48:1; young male with rich equipment buried near the palatial area; hill e, between palaces a and B late 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlmeyer (eds) 1998: 40–41, pls. 46,10; 220 grave 25/48:8; individual buried in the palatial area late 3rd with weapons; hill e, between palaces a and B millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlemeyer (eds) 1998: 44, pls 50, 51 grave 24/47:4; adult male buried with weapons; hill e, between palaces a and B late 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlemeyer (eds) 1998: pl. 31; 36,1; 165,7; 220 grave 24/49:3; hill e, between palaces a and B late 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlemeyer (eds) 1998: 32–, pls 33, 36, 12, 38 grave 24/49:5 (probably); adult male buried in a shat in the palatial area; hill e, between palaces a and B late 3rd millennium Bc strommenger, Kohlemeyer (eds) 1998: 35–36, pl. 40 no data late 3rd millennium Bc Bucellatti, coccia 2007 W13 Wreide Burial 8; rich multiple burial; the leaf probably from a presumed female burial late 3rd millennium Bc van loon 2001: 426, pl. 8.10.b dr. 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