its royal functions cannot be identified with complete certainty, for, at this period,
they do not show themselves in specific and clearly identifiable architectural
features. One of the texts found talks of the Great House, that is, the palace, which
suggests that the characteristics of a palace will probably be found in the rooms of
the western sector which has not yet been excavated.This level ended in a violent fire. In excavations recently carried out to the west of the
entrance, a number of seal impressions of king Ishqui-Mari (formerly known as Lamgi-
Mari) were found among the ashes. His name has been known since the earliest
excavations, but his place in the chronology of the site was unclear. This discovery fixes
the time of the destruction and the name of the king who submitted, but it does not
tell us the name of the conqueror. Phase 0 came immediately after the destruction of
palace 1 ; there was a levelling of the burnt rubble and this and the burnt walls were
covered with a layer of earth. The Enceinte Sacrée and Area 4 were refurbished and
additional jambs were inserted into the doorways to make the doors smaller and to
lighten the load on them. A monumental room which might have acted as a Throne
Room was built with a double row of square pillars of unbaked mud brick decorated
with fluting.
Level P 0 was not occupied for long and another new palace was soon built.
Few objects were found in the ruins of the palace, except for large numbers of seal
impressions in Palace 1 , which are important for the study of history and iconography.
The Treasure Jar, which was a foundation deposit below P 0 , contained a superb
pendant in the form of a lion-headed eagle, a fine collection of cylinder seals and a
lapis-lazuli bead inscribed with the name of Mesannipadda king of Ur.
–– J.-C. Margueron, trans H. Crawford ––Figure 27.5Reconstruction of Mari (Courtesy of the Louvre)