Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) Woolley discovered the instruments when excavating the Royal Cemetery of Ur between from 1922 and 1934. They discovered pieces of three lyres and one harp in Ur located in what was Ancient Mesopotamia and now is Iraq. They are over 4,500 years old from ancient Mesopotamia during the ED III. The decorations on the lyres are fine examples of the court Art of Mesopotamia of the period. Press. Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to c. 2900–2350 BC and was preceded
Geography of Mesopotamia was similarly known as "Gu-gubba" (Akkadian "Kisad tamtim") "bank of the sea." A more comprehensive name of southern Mesopotamia was "Kengi", "the land," or "Kengi Sumer", "the land of Sumer". Sumer has been supposed to be the original of the Biblical Shinar and the Sankhar of the Amarna letters. Opposed to Kengi and Sumer were Urra (Un) and Akkad or northern Babylonia. The original meaning of Urra was perhaps "clayey soil," but it came to signify "the upper country" or "highlands," "kengi" being "the lowlands." In Semitic times, Urra was pronounced Un and confounded with "uru", "city" as a geographical