<P> The present form of the artifact is a reconstruction, presenting a best guess of its original appearance . It has been interpreted as a hollow wooden box measuring 21.59 centimetres (8.50 in) wide by 49.53 centimetres (19.50 in) long, inlaid with a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli . The box has an irregular shape with end pieces in the shape of truncated triangles, making it wider at the bottom than at the top, along the lines of a Toblerone bar . </P> <P> Inlaid mosaic panels cover each long side of the Standard . Each presents a series of scenes displayed in three registers, upper, middle and bottom . The two mosaics have been dubbed "War" and "Peace" for their subject matter, respectively a representation of a military campaign and scenes from a banquet . The panels at each end originally showed fantastical animals but they suffered significant damage while buried, though they have since been restored . </P> <P> "War" is one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army, engaged in what is believed to be a border skirmish and its aftermath . The "War" panel shows the king in the middle of the top register, standing taller than any other figure, with his head projecting out of the frame to emphasize his supreme status--a device also used on the other panel . He stands in front of his bodyguard and a four - wheeled chariot, drawn by a team of some sort of equids (possibly onagers or domestic asses; horses were only introduced in the 2nd millennium BC after being imported from Central Asia). He faces a row of prisoners, all of whom are portrayed as naked, bound and injured with large, bleeding gashes on their chests and thighs--a device indicating defeat and debasement . In the middle register, eight virtually identically depicted soldiers give way to a battle scene, followed by a depiction of enemies being captured and led away . The soldiers are shown wearing leather cloaks and helmets; actual examples of the sort of helmet depicted in the mosaic were found in the same tomb . The nudity of the captive and dead enemies was probably not meant to depict literally how they appeared in real life, but was more likely to have been symbolic and associated with a Mesopotamian belief that linked death with nakedness . </P> <P> The lower register shows four chariots, each carrying a charioteer and a warrior (carrying either a spear or an axe) and drawn by a team of four equids . The chariots are depicted in considerable detail; each has solid wheels (spoked wheels were not invented until about 1800 BC) and carries spare spears in a container at the front . The arrangement of the equids' reins is also shown in detail, illustrating how the Sumerians harnessed them without using bits, which were only introduced a millennium later . The chariot scene evolves from left to right in a way that emphasizes motion and action through changes in the depiction of the animals' gait . The first chariot team is shown walking, the second cantering, the third galloping and the fourth rearing . Trampled enemies are shown lying under the hooves of the latter three groups, symbolizing the potency of a chariot attack . </P>

The standard of ur illustrates the common mesopotamian representation of