Stele of the Vultures

E766733

The Stele of the Vultures is an Early Dynastic Mesopotamian limestone monument commemorating the victory of the city-state of Lagash over Umma, notable for its detailed narrative reliefs of warfare and divine protection.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Stele of the Vultures canonical 6

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Mesopotamian monument
archaeological artifact
limestone stele
victory stele
artStyle Early Dynastic Sumerian relief sculpture
narrative relief
associatedDeity Ningirsu
linked to: Ninurta

Ningirsu’s consort Ninhursag
linked to: Ninhursag
associatedWith city-state of Lagash
linked to: Lagash

city-state of Umma
linked to: city of Umma
commemorates victory of Lagash over Umma
commissionedBy Eannatum of Lagash
linked to: Eannatum
condition fragmentary
countryModern Iraq
culture Sumerian
currentCity Paris
currentLocation Louvre Museum
dateApproximate circa 2450 BCE
depicts Eannatum of Lagash
linked to: Eannatum

battle scenes
divine protection in battle
god Ningirsu
linked to: Ninurta

net of enemies held by Ningirsu
phalanx of Lagash soldiers
religious or mythological scenes
vultures carrying severed heads
warfare between Lagash and Umma
discoveredAt Tello
discoveredBy Ernest de Sarzec
discoveryDateApproximate late 19th century
function boundary marker
political propaganda monument
heightApproximate about 1.8 meters
inscriptionContent account of Eannatum’s victory over Umma
description of a border dispute
invocation of gods as guarantors of the boundary
inscriptionType royal inscription
language Sumerian
material limestone
museumInventoryNumber AO 50
originalLocation Girsu
linked to: city of Girsu
originalRegion southern Mesopotamia
period Early Dynastic III period
sideDescription historical side with battle scenes
mythological side with Ningirsu and divine imagery
significance evidence for early territorial boundaries in Mesopotamia
important source for Early Dynastic warfare
one of the earliest known historical narrative reliefs
writingSystem Sumerian cuneiform

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Lagash hasArtifact Stele of the Vultures
Lagash documentedIn Stele of the Vultures
Umma mentionedIn Stele of the Vultures
Eannatum associatedWithArtifact Stele of the Vultures
Eannatum commemoratedBy Stele of the Vultures
Gu’edena associatedWith Stele of the Vultures
subject linked to: Gu’edena (Gu-edenna)