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Other objects
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A frit necklace
A lost necklace in front of the revetment wall must have caused consternation in antiquity because the beads were important and made with great delicacy. The largest one is a frit pendant (J3.20.2, Fig. 38a) molded in a metal mold. This can be determined by both the large size of the object (2.1 cm in diameter) and the sharp detail of both the design on the face and the detail of striations in low relief on the part used to hang the pendant. The design is a sun surrounded by raised globes. Perhaps the sun evoked the god Shamash but we see this symbol also in other Mittani glyptic. Near the pendant were a number of beads; two of them were decorated glass (J3.20.1, J3q379.1). According to our conservator Beatrice Angeli of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence) who worked on the beads and the pendant (all arrived from the excavation in a very fragile condition) the decorated beads were first woven as two strands of glass, one white and one black. The resulting black and white spiral was then pulled in a wavy pattern that can now be seen on the beads. The pendant and the largest of the beads (J3.22) were covered with a blue glaze; unfortunately almost gone when they were excavated.
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Clay objects
Two other important objects from the excavations of this season are a figurine of a sheep with very thick bunched hair (J4q28.1). The first impression is that the hair signals the identification of the figurine as a lion – well known at Urkesh from the seal iconography, the lion statue found in the temple BA, and from lion bones in the palace that must have been hunted in the nearby Tur Abdin. The other important item (J3q383.6) is an object with concentric circles in relief on a base that is 7.50 cm in diameter. This type of object has been found in Mittani levels before and is either a stamp seal or a wall peg. The largest ones, as is this one, might have been placed in a wall but it is hard to think that the smaller ones found in earlier strata (Phase 2) could have had this function.
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A very small fragment of a cuneiform tablet (Z1.544, Fig. 37c) was found on the surface near the excavations in A19. In spite of its very diminutive size, it is worth mentioning because it is the first epigraphic find from Mozan that can be attributed to the Old Babylonian period, and because one of the signs may perhaps be the sign LUGAL for “king.”
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A clay plaque
The fragment of clay relief (J4q16.1, see Figs. 38b-c) is the upper right corner of a plaque (3.3 cm high and 2.6 cm wide at the top). The preserved portion indicates a raised border at the top but not one on the right side and no border below the feet to indicate that it is part of a plaque divided into registers. The plaque is flat on top and on the reverse as well as the preserved right side. However if it had been divided into the standard, but by no means universal, pattern of three registers, then the original would have been about 5-6 cm high. The scene depicts two evenly spaced figures, a soldier on the left and a naked prisoner on the right. The head of the soldier is shown in profile facing right. He is wearing a head band but his hair above is not clear. The beard is shown as short thickened strands with the hint of curls at the bottom. His left shoulder is represented in front view with his arm rendered as wide near the shoulder, a pointed elbow and a thinner arm to the wrist. His left hand holds a cord used to restrain his prisoner. The prisoner is nude and rendered with his head in profile, shoulders in front view and the rest of his body in a rotated view with the change in direction coming at mid torso so that his legs and genitals are depicted in profile. Since he is shown walking his left leg is forward, his genitals are shown against the middle portion of his left leg. While a cord is tied around his neck, his hands are not fastened behind his back, as we have in other scenes of prisoners, his right arm is indicated as bent up across his chest. Unfortunately his left arm is not preserved.
The stylistic characteristics of this plaque indicate that it is early Akkadian in date. These include the details of the beard, the shape of the eyes, the extension of the lower stomach, and especially the rotated posture. The plaque is close in style to the fragment of a stone plaque discovered a number of years ago in A7. Both represent significant interaction between two figures, evenly spaced, with bodies in a rotated view. Other ED III and early Akkadian scenes in registers depict soldiers restraining prisoners who are walking in front of them. This plaque relief from Urkesh is the first example of a prisoner being restrained by a cord around his neck. While the rest of the plaque cannot be reconstructed with certainty, it probably also depicted other pairs of soldiers and naked prisoners.
The imaging of captive prisoners is a favorite theme in late ED III and early Akkadian iconography, not only because the period is one of turmoil as the Akkadian dynasty sought to extend its imperial presence. The victories of the imperial army and the wide-spread images of their success, extending even into the popular culture of the period, contributed significantly to the image of power and prestige the dynasty wanted to create in the public perception. This perception was important to create not only in the minds of their immediate neighbors but also in the consciousness of states as far away as Urkesh.
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