It must be noted that the number of graves excavated at an archaeological site hardly
ever corresponds to the estimated population of the settlement (Pollock 1991 b: 175 ).
Some burials may not have left any archaeological traces, a possibility that Pollock
( 1999 : 206 ) has already discussed. For this reason, the question of whether other types
of burials existed in addition to those we already know of must remain unanswered.
BURIAL AND JOURNEY OF THE DEAD INTO THE
NETHERWORLD
The reform texts of Uru’inimgina, the last ruler of the first dynasty of Lagash, mention
expenditures for transporting the corpse to the grave. Two professional groups are
referred to in these texts, the uh
̆musˇand the previously mentioned lu’umumma,who
were rewarded for their tasks at very different rates (Cooper 1986 : La 9. 1 ). In the case
of a burial in a cemetery, the corpses of members of the ruling house and other elite
personalities seem to have been brought to the cemetery by chariot, which is indicated
by the remains of chariots and draft animals in the Y-cemetery in Kish (Moorey 1978 :
104 – 106 ) as well as in the Royal Cemetery in Ur (Woolley 1934 : 48 – 49 , 64 – 65 ). The
text from Adab that was discussed above also indicates that burials of persons of high
social standing took place using a chariot and draft animals, although in this case only
the temple administrator, not his wife, received that privilege (Gelb, Steinkeller,
Whiting 1991 : 101 i 7 – 8 ). It is, however, unlikely that this was a gendered practice,
because the coffin of Geme 2 – dLama 3 (see above) was brought to the grave in a chariot
manufactured solely for this purpose (Jagersma 2007 : 292 ). The sledge that was found
in the grave of Pû-abı ̄ should be mentioned here as well (Woolley 1934 : 78 – 80 and pls.
122 – 123 ).
Following the preparation of the corpse and the rituals of mourning, the body was
brought to the grave. It is possible to imagine a scenario in which the persons who
would later place objects into the grave – provided they did so – met at the house of
mourning and then went to the cemetery together in a kind of procession. We do not
know anything about the nature of house burials, that is, whether they were private
or public. We may assume that in Mesopotamia the funeral party was composed of
relatives and maybe also of friends of the deceased. Whether ritual specialists, paid
female mourners, or male or female lamentation singers accompanied the funeral party
remains unknown. In the case of a burial in a Royal Tomb in Ur, we know, based on
the archaeological evidence, that the funerary party consisted of persons who would
later be “co-interred.” Such “co-interments” varied depending on the layout and
equipment of a shaft tomb; in some cases armed men were interred together with the
main burial, in other cases the “co-interment” consisted of escorts for the chariots,
unarmed men, whose function remains unclear, or women who were adorned in
different manners, whose numbers could vary considerably. In RT 789 , RT 800 , and
RT 1237 , it is possible to identify groups of female musicians.^3
Once at the grave, the dressed and adorned corpse was placed on mats, on a bier,
or in a coffin, depending on the type of burial. It was common to bury the body lying
on its side in a flexed position with knees bent and hands in front of the face, with
Pû’abı ̄ being the only exception (RT 800 ). We do not know whether these practices
were accompanied by rituals. Winter recently discussed the possible existence of
purification rituals for both the deceased and the attendants of the funeral that may
–– Helga Vogel ––