ABSTRACT
The nature of a ritual of kingship known as the “Sacred Marriage” has long puzzledscholars. With one contested exception, the famed Uruk Vase from the Protoliterate period, the testimony has appeared to be exclusively textual. The present study identifies the elusive ceremony as a specialized libation performed with twin pedestal vessels, a ceremony prominently depicted on royal monuments. The visual testimony and the archaeological footprint of the ritual equipment complement the texts, providing much-needed information about how the ritual was performed and its geographical and temporal distribution. The picture obtained by combining varied perspectives indicates a long-lived tradition and ceremonial specifics that changed over time.
