Knicks & Knacks

"Graverob-Dungeoneering. Yeah, dungeoneering." (Part 3.2 - Neo-Assyria)

This is part two of a post on the Queens' Tombs found in the Northwest Palace. This post will contain Tomb III and Tomb IV. You can find part one about Tomb I and Tomb II here:

Part One

As in my previous tomb posts, I will be listing a lot of items. I have included pictures of some of them. A picture of nearly every single item found across the four tombs can be found at the following link.

Nimrud: The Queens' Tombs

This book was written by Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein, who discovered the tombs. It contains over 350 pages of descriptions of all the items found in these tombs, alongside hundreds of pictures and illustrations. This resource is invaluable. I reference this book nearly constantly throughout this post, so I would recommend having it open. My post condenses the finds as much as possible for readability purposes; read the book. Seriously. Read the book.

If you want other resources for pictures or information, here:

*Wikipedia

*Assyrian International News Agency

Queens' Tombs Queens' Tombs

Tomb III - Mullissu-mukannishat-Ninua (Room 57)

Illustrations of the tomb are on pg. 309-312, Plates 92-95

Images of the finds within the tomb are on pg. 313-388, Plates 96-171

**Tomb III Layout*** Layout

The party returns to the palace complex by the outer courtyard of room 55. They have come back fresh and light, equipped with little more than the bare essentials to dig. They notice a narrow hallway south of room 49 and shimmy their way through, only to be greeted by a massive mound of debris. However, they know the drill by know, and spend many turns removing debris so as to better see the floor.

Their diligence pays off, for there is a section of disturbed bricks in the floor near the center, disturbed in a similar way as the bricks of Tomb I. They remove the bricks and begin digging. In a few turns, they find a necklace of stone beads and a heavy limestone square. Removing both, they see the floor drop away. They are now looking into Tomb III.

Dropping in, the room is filled with debris, though to a lesser extent. Removing it in the room reveals another large, stone duck weight and a limestone sarcophagus set in the floor. On the lid, in a language the party can hopefully read, is a curse for anyone who removes the lid. Removing the lid of the sarcophagus reveals only evidence that someone has been here before: there is but a scrap of bone and a single bead within it. Perhaps the curse was already triggered on the last party through here? One can only hope.

Doors

Despite the disappointment, to the south of the sarcophagus is an archway with two stone doors. Pushing against them does not move them. They move slightly then stop, as if hitting something on the other side. After many failed attempts to move the doors, plan B of every party is chosen: violence. The doors may not move at all, but they break fairly easily with a few mighty blows.

The Antechamber

On the other side of the doors is an antechamber, filled with debris almost to the waist in some places. Through the systematic removal of debris, three bronze coffins are found rather quickly, for the were the things blocking the doors. One is stacked on top of another, with a third next to the stack.

Coffin 1

Opening coffin one reveals numerous human remains. Based on the sizes, it is evident both adults, humans, and infants were buried within it. There is also a fetus within the coffin. Alongside the human remains are the following:

I couldn't find any online images from this coffin. Images of all these items, including the gold figurine, headbands, and necklaces, are in the book on Plates 103-127.

Good thing the party packed light, because this is a great haul of goodies! And this is just one coffin. We've got two more to go!

Coffin 2

Opening the coffin reveals a single human skeleton, identified as "Queen Hama" by a stamp seal within her remains. Alongside the remains are the following:

Crown Crown

Golden Ewer Ewer

Gold Armlets Armlets

Coffin 2 contains some of the most legendary treasure so far. The crown alone is of immense value as it is made of gold and lapis lazuli, shows incredibly craftsmanship, and clearly belonged to royalty. The right person would pay through the nose for such an item. The other items are of substantial weight too, like the ewer, bowls, and armlets. All in all, a great haul. One more coffin left!

Scattered among the debris between Coffin 2 and Coffin 3 are a few other items - gold bracelets, a cosmetic palette, a stone bowl, a cup of white stone, and a few glazed pieces of pottery probably containing liquids at one time.

Coffin 3

Opening the coffin reveals five adult skeletons. Alongside the skeletal remains are the following:

Again, I couldn't find any online images from this coffin. Images of all these items are in the book on Plates 159-171.

Definitely a...different haul than the other two. Much less gold, but still some very unique items within it. Electrum and bronze sell well enough, and the craftsmanship alone of some of these items makes up for their non-gold-ness.

The party packed light for a reason, and so they are able to get all this stuff out of the tomb between themselves. They came in one doorway and leave by the other, entering into the inner courtyard they've been in before. The go south, snooping around various rooms. Coming to room 72, they realize it ends in a dead-end in room 71.

Retracing back out, a party member noticed something familiar - a square in the floor. This square is a slab of baked brick missing any form of mortar, and therefore rather loose. Removing the bricks reveals a small stairway of three steps which leads to an underground chamber. They have found Tomb IV.

Tomb IV

The entrance to the tomb is arched and the chamber itself is completely free of debris. The chamber is vaulted like the other tombs as well. Four terra-cotta slabs lay across a large box on the northern wall. Removing the terra-cotta slabs reveals a large stone sarcophagus.

Removing the lid reveals only a few teeth. There are no other human remains within the sarcophagus. There are additional things within the sarcophagus:

Again, I couldn't find any online images from this coffin. Images of all these items are in the book on Plates 177-182.

While these are meager finds compared to the other tombs, the sarcophagus is not the only thing in the tomb. Around the room are small niches in the walls containing items such as alabaster jars, glazed pottery bottles, small jars, and bronze lamps. In the southeastern corner on the floor are the remains of a funerary meal, with items such as pottery jars and stands, bowls, a bronze strainer bowl, a bronze bowl, and some bronze cups.

At this point, these items are really just the cherry on top for our party. They are already rich beyond their wildest dreams, and they are now that much more wealthy. Of course, such significant finds and such an inflow of gold and other precious items will be very suspicious. And then there's that whole "curse" thing for "dungeoneering". How many do they have now - three? Hopefully that's nothing more than fanciful words...

Miscellaneous Thoughts & Conclusions

  1. Reality

There is a lot more to this palace than just these four tombs. In fact, I would argue, these tombs would be secondary to the rest of the Northwest Palace in which they reside. However, as this post is about tombs, they have been the focus. In most of the tombs was evidence of funerary meals. These would have been food stuffs for the deceased to take with them into the afterlife.

Even more so than Egypt or Mesopotamia, it would seem the Assyrians put great emphasis on being buried in royal splendor. The reason for this probably has something to do with "Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld" and the Assyrian understanding of life after death. In this short story, Ishtar, goddess of love and war, goes to the underworld. To successfully get to the queen of the netherworld, she must travel through seven gates. As per the "rules of the Mistress of the Underworld", at each gate she must forfeit something of value until, by the seventh gate, she is left naked.

The rest of the story has no purpose for this post; what's important is how this showcases the Assyrian understanding of the afterlife. These treasures aren't designed to flaunt wealth, but to ensure the deceased make it through the gates. There was even the idea that those who lost their burial riches in the real world also lost them in the afterlife; this explains all the curses for tampering with the tombs - the queens are trying to protect their place in the afterlife!

  1. The Game

I think these tombs illustrate a really important facet of dungeon treasure - it communicates who the person is. In Tomb I, there was an unusual amount of seals alongside some "erotic figurines". These two things lead researchers to believe the individual buried there was a secretary of sorts, probably one who was involved with the royal harem.

Coffin 1 of Tomb III had one adult and multiple children and infants, and so it had treasures which were "kid-sized". This also leads researchers to believe, because it was a woman and a fetus, that she may have died in childbirth or the whole family may have been wiped out by disease.

Coffin 2 of Tomb III had the crown which obviously communicates who this person was; in the same way, Coffin 3 had very little of significance despite the number of bodies within it, communicating their status as well.

A dungeon with a dragon at the middle will have different treasure than a crazed wizard will have different treasure than a dead king will have different treasure than an undead high priest. The treasure within the dungeon should communicate something about the person(s) within it.

Additionally, as was the case with Tutankhamun's tomb, it would be incredibly easy for a party to just miss these tombs altogether. If they ignore the raised bricks indicating Tomb I, they will probably ignore them indicating Tomb III. A lazy party who isn't paying attention or putting in rounds to dig will miss out on multiple tombs and rooms.

Finally, two more thoughts on curses and old things.

  1. The Setting

Setting considerations are still largely the same - a party suddenly flush with treasure like this is going to raise eyebrows. Enough eyebrows that their patron, upon learning what they've found, may betray them to the king if their patron thinks that deal works out better for them.

The party does have a patron, right?

Closing Remarks

Honestly, I feel I bit off more than I could chew with this one. I didn't realize how much was involved in these tombs. I did my best to keep the posts focused solely on the tombs, treating the greater palace as merely the container in which they existed. It'll probably be a hot minute before I post something similar to this, simply for the amount of time it takes. I still enjoyed the endeavor, but it was definitely more than the other posts were. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, again, for the last time: read the book.

Nimrud: The Queens' Tombs