ABSTRACT
The archaeological remains and the written records from the third millennium BC provide us with fascinating insights into the thoughts and practices of the people who lived in what is today Southern Iraq, specifically when they faced the death of a person close to them. 1 Despite a large degree of variation, both archaeological and written sources indicate that in Mesopotamia the deceased were usually buried, either in the house or in a cemetery. In the following, I would like to summarize the most important elements of a burial. These include the preparation of the corpse, the mourning of the dead, and the construction of the grave, followed by the actual interment and the journey of the dead into the netherworld. In addition, I will briefly discuss the central aspects of the cult of the dead as attested in texts from the Early Dynastic period (c.2900–2350 BC).
