Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum is the earliest known public museum.[1]It dates to circa 530 BCE. The curator was Ennigaldi, the daughter of Nabonidus, the last kingof the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It was in the state of Ur, in the modern-day Dhi Qar Governorate of Iraq, roughly 150 metres (490 ft) southeast of the famous Ziggurat of Ur.

Discovery

The museum was discovered in 1925, when archaeologist Leonard Woolley excavated portions of the palace and temple complex at Ur.[5]He found dozens of artifacts, neatly arranged side by side, whose ages varied by centuries. He determined that they were museum pieces, because they were accompanied by “museum labels”; clay drums written in three different languages, including Sumerian. [5][8][7][9]