Stele of the Vultures

This article is about the stone structure. For the usage in plant biology, see stele (biology).

The Stele of Vultures is the oldest known histographic document, a partial reconstruction of limestone fragments found among the remains of the sumerian city of Girsu(a). It is a victory stele, commemorating the victory won by Eannatum, king of Lagash, who ruled around 2450 BCE. A stele (Template:Pron-en, older /ˈstiːl/, from Greek: στήλη stēlē; plural: stelae /ˈstiːlaɪ/, στῆλαι stēlai; also found: Latinised singular stela and Anglicised plural steles) is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief (bas-relief, sunken-relief, high-relief, and so forth), or painted onto the slab. It can also be used as territorial markers to delineate land ownership.

Stele of the Vultures (so named from another fragment showing them preying on the dead. With a long inscription of Eanatum (de Sarzec 1884-1912, Planche 3 bias and 4 ter).

One fragment of the victory stele of the king Eannatum of Lagash over Umma, called « Stele of Vultures ». Limestone, circa 2450 BC, Sumerian archaic dynasties. Found in 1881 in Girsu (now Tello, Iraq), Mesopotamia, by Édouard de Sarzec.

History and function

The Stele was discovered in 1881 in Ngirsu, (modern Telloh) Iraq, by Édouard de Sarzec and now is housed at the Louvre, in Paris. It is approximatly 5 feet, 11 inches (1.8 m) high and was erected between 2,600-2,500 BCE.

List of Fragments

• Lemnos stela
• Lapis Niger
• For Israel/Egypt:
  • Merneptah Stele
  • Mesha Stele
• For Egypt:
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten
  • Palermo stone
  • The Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu
• In the Western Hemisphere:
  • Peru: Raimondi Stela
  • Mexico: Stela C at Tres Zapotes
  • Mexico: Izapa Stela 5
  • Mexico: La Mojarra Stela 1
  • Guatemala: Stele 14 from Piedras Negras
  • Honduras: Stele H from Copan
• Vietnam: the Doctorate stelae at the Temple of Literature

See also

• Hilarri or Basque steles
• Inscription
• Monumental inscription
• Runestone
• Stećci
• Stele Forest, in Xi'an, China
• Kurgan stelae