New Votive Plaques from Nippur

Fragments of the Third Millennium Bc From Nigin

“… 11 See the similar observation and comment by Hansen (1963: 164) for the plaque 7N133–134 from Level VIIB of the Temple of Inanna at Nippur.…”

“… 10 Usually referred as “votive plaques” in the literature, due to their presence in temple contexts (actually the finding of a “votive” plaque has been used to interpret a building as a temple, see Marchesi and Marchetti 2011: 85), these objects are usually square shaped with a hole in the centre: the presence of the central hole suggested that the plaques were originally attached to the walls with a peg. Various different hypotheses about the function have been advanced so far, the most common is the use as a door plaque, as a part of the mechanism for the locking of doors (see, among others, Hansen 1963: 151–152; Fiandra et al . 2000; Iselin 2006), but there is not a general consensus (see Boese 1971: 158, 161–162).…”