semi-pictorial script, from which we learn the name of the king, and also of the city over which he ruled. It was discovered at a great depth below the surface of the mound, among the ruins of a temple constructed of the small plano-convex bricks characteristic of the pre-Ur-Ninâ buildings. A particularly interesting feature about this unique monument is that the arms are free from the body, whereas in nearly all Mesopotamian statues they are joined up to the sides. The hands are clasped in front as is the case in so many Sumerian statues and reliefs of all periods, while the feet are embedded in the pedestal to enable them to support the short, thick-set and heavy body, which was apparently a peculiarity of the Sumerian physique. Unfortunately we have hardly any complete figures of early Sumerian women, the little stone statuette in Fig. 33 gives us however some idea of the appearance and dress of women in early Babylonia. Her features conform to the usual Sumerian type, while her long hair is tied with a fillet which surrounds her head and gathers up her flowing tresses at the back. [Illustration: FIG. 33. (_Déc. en Chald._, Pl. I, _ter._ No. 3.)] But the three archaic stone heads (cf. Pl. XXII) which were unearthed at Tellô enable us to form a somewhat more complete estimate of the artistic ability of the sculptors of that age in regard to the portrayal of the human face and head. The head on the right closely resembles the central one, both of which exhibit a more advanced style of art than that exhibited in the head on the left, which is, however, the most interesting of the three. It was discovered on the other side of the Shatt-el-Hai, the canal which connects the Tigris with the Euphrates; unlike the others, the aquiline nose is perfectly preserved, the eyes are as usual large and shaped like almonds, and were doubtless at one time inlaid with shell and coloured, while the lips betray a suppressed smile; the type of face is exactly the same as that seen on the Vulture Stele, though the details are of course more precise, as might be expected from a work in the round. _PLATE XXIIa_ [Illustration: _Photo. Mansell British Museum_ LIMESTONE FIGURE OF AN EARLY SUMERIAN] _PLATE XXIIb_ [Illustration: _Musée du Louvre: Déc. en Chald., Pl. 6, 1-3_ ARCHAIC LIMESTONE HEADS] [Illustration: FIG. 34.—A. (Louvre, Cat., p. 217; _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 6, Fig. 3.) B. (_Comptes Rendus_, 1907, p. 398; _Délég. en Perse Mém._, X, Pl. 1.) C. (Louvre, Cat., p. 227; _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 8 (bis), 4.)]