Time and again, the exhibit stresses the dimensions of Uruk from an ancient perspective.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
For more than three millennia, Uruk was one of the world's centers of science, culture and religion.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
The exhibition aims to correct this by highlighting Uruk's major role as the cradle of urban dwelling.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
Representing Uruk's mass-produced goods are beveled-rim bowls that were made using molds and often used for workers' rations.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
But Uruk has been spared damage and looting thanks largely to the government's commitment to protecting the site.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
One walks away convinced that Uruk, like all great cities, was far more than the sum of its parts.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
The city walls and massive temple complexes with ziggurats or step-pyramids attest to the ingenuity of Uruk's architects and builders.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
Among Uruk's other advances was the quickly turning potter's wheel, a systematic division of labor and the invention of cylinder seals.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
But beyond any single innovation, the exhibition argues that the most modern aspect of Uruk was its status as a forward-thinking urban center.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
For more than 2, 000 years, Uruk was the largest city in the world, surpassed in size only by Babylon in the sixth century B.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
"You could say that Uruk is to blame for bureaucracy, " Mr. Wartke said half-jokingly when referring to the city's penchant for validating and recording goods.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
But the exhibition also focuses on the specific innovations developed at Uruk and shows how they often arose in response to new challenges posed by urban life.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
Mr. Wartke suggested that the lack of eye-catching finds from Uruk comparable to those from ancient Egypt might have something to do with the city's relative obscurity.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
"Very few people actually know about Uruk, but everyone's heard about Gilgamesh, " said Mr. Wartke, meaning both the king and the epic that contains a flood narrative similar to the Bible's.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
The first room of the exhibit discusses the parallels between the mythic and historical city of Uruk and displays some stunning terra cotta busts and reliefs depicting popular episodes from the epic.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
C. and comes from Uruk's sacred district, Eanna.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
Organized to mark the 100th anniversary of the first excavations at Uruk, the show is a sweeping presentation of archaeological objects (including loans from the British Museum and the Louvre), architectural reconstructions and digital renderings that provide the most complete overview of the metropolis ever assembled.
WSJ: The Ur-Metropolis | Uruk | Pergamon Museum | By A.J. Goldmann
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