Apart from the cone recording the conquest of Umma, the inscriptions of Entemena do not throw much light upon the military achievements of his reign. Three fragments of a limestone vase have been found at Nippur in the strata beneath the temple of Enlil on the south-east side of the ziggurat, or temple-tower, bearing on their outer surface a votive inscription of Entemena.[14] From these we gather that the vase was dedicated to Enlil as a thank-offering after some victory. The fragmentary character of the inscription prevents us from identifying the enemy who was subdued on this occasion; but we shall probably be right in taking the passage as referring, not to the conquest of Umma, but to the subjugation of some other district. In fact, we may regard the vase as evidence that Entemena attempted to retain his hold upon the empire which Eannatum had founded, and did not shrink from the necessity of undertaking military expeditions to attain this object. In further support of this view we may perhaps cite a reference to one of the cities conquered by Eannatum, which occurs upon a votive text drawn up in Entemena's reign, though not by the patesi himself. The text in question is stamped upon the perforated relief of Dudu, chief priest of Ningirsu,[15] which at one time formed the support of a colossal ceremonial mace-head dedicated in the temple of Ningirsu at Lagash. The material of which the block is composed is dark in colour, comparatively light in weight, and liable to crack; it consists of a mixture of clay and bitumen, and may have been formed by nature or produced artificially.[16] While this substance was still in a pliant state the block was formed from it, and the designs with the inscription were impressed by means of a stamp. According to the inscription, this bituminous substance was brought by Dudu to Lagash from one of the cities which had been conquered by Eannatum and incorporated within his empire. The fact that Dudu should have caused the substance to be procured from the city in question suggests that friendly relations existed between it and Lagash at the time; it is quite possible that it had not, meanwhile, secured its independence, but still continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the latter city. The only other references to a foreign city in the texts of Entemena occur upon his two principal building inscriptions,[17] which include among the list of his buildings the erection of a great laver for the god Enki, described as "King of Eridu." We may perhaps see in this record a further indication that at least the southern portion of Eannatum's empire still remained in his nephew's possession. [Illustration: Fig. 49.--Fig 50.--Fig 51.--Details from the engravings upon Entemena's silver vase. The upper group represents the emblem of Lagash; in the lower groups ibexes and stags are substituted for the lions.--_Déc._, pl 43 _bis_; Cat. No. 218.]