Meskalamdug

Who is Meskalamdug?

Meskalamdug was an early ruler of Ur who does not appear in the Sumerian king list.

His tomb, discovered by English archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley in the Royal Cemetery of Ur in 1924, contained numerous gold artifacts including a golden helmet with an inscription of the king's name. His wife's name was queen Ninbanda. Meskalamdug was also mentioned on a seal in another tomb with the title lugal, however because his own tomb lacked attendants, Woolley assumed that he was not royal. The controversy remains though, because he is named on a bead inscription discovered in Mari by French archaeologist André Parrot ten years later, as the father of king Mesannepada of Ur, who appears in the king list and in many other inscriptions.