DOCUMENTED OUTFIT · CLOSED CONTEXT OR CONTROLLED COMPARISON

Susa grave goods

The princely tomb at Susa preserves no name

A bronze sarcophagus, jewellery and tableware formed the grave goods of a high-ranking person buried in Susa.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Contextual image of The Archer Frieze of the Susa Palace for the Susa Grave Goods assemblage — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

The Louvre records the sarcophagus and jewellery as furnishings of an Achaemenid princely tomb.

Representative objects: Bronze sarcophagus, gold, mother-of-pearl and stone necklaces, hundreds of beads, pendants, bracelets and tableware.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: The Louvre records the sarcophagus and jewellery as furnishings of an Achaemenid princely tomb. Mandatory caution: Princely expresses the rank of the context, not identity. It must not be attributed to a specific person nor used to fill the empty tomb of Cyrus.

Catalogue facts

Date: c. 350 BCE
Location: Susa Acropolis · Iran
Complex: Bronze sarcophagus, gold, mother-of-pearl and stone necklaces, hundreds of beads, pendants, bracelets and tableware
Level: Trousseau or funerary context with visible caution

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

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c. 350 BCE

Susa grave goods

Achaemenid Persia

Date of the funerary assemblage.

Current record

Gold32 dated objects

22 / 32In the centre: Susa grave goods

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Jewellery and adornment

Hohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Carnelian beads · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia — You are viewing
Punic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Treasure of Cheste · Jewellery from the 4th–3rd centuries BCE; concealment at the end of the 3rd century BCE. · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Dressing to be seen · 6th–1st centuries BCE · Iberians

Funerary contexts

Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
El Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · Prehistory
Guadancil idol-plaque · 3750–2500 cal BCE · Iberians
Staff of Anta 4 · Late 4th–first half of the 3rd millennium BCE. · Prehistory
Abydos Boats · ca. 3000 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Queen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · Sumer
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Osmankayası and Ilıca · ca. 1700/1650–1200 BCE · Hittites
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Ceramic stand 1010 · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Two voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia — You are viewing
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Cemetery · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Livestock and mounds · c. 2050–1500 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Shum Laka · c. 8,000 and 3,000 years before present · Bantu-speaking worlds
The quarry remained visible · Mainly 6th–5th centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Three hundred lives in the sand · Mainly 4th century BCE–3rd century CE · Yayoi Japan
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds

Kingship and power

Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Sumerian King List · Towards 1800 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Tribute to Assyria · c. 848 BCE · Phoenicians
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer
Twenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid Persia
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia — You are viewing
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Rome learns in terracotta · End of the sixth century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

A sarcophagus widened towards the top

The Louvre records sarcophagus SB 132 as a bronze tub-shaped vessel, now fragmented into about fifty pieces and splinters. Its inventory measurements distinguish a narrower base from a wider upper opening; it is not a rectangular box with vertical sides. It was excavated by Jacques de Morgan’s mission at the Susa acropolis in 1901. The current catalogue dates it broadly within the Achaemenid period. This breadth must be distinguished from more precise datings proposed from the funerary assemblage, without attributing an owner’s name to the vessel.

Museum · Musée du Louvre · Sarcophagus, SB132Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Sousse IranAchaemenid city and palace marker.

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Consult the institutional funeral context

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History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Susa grave goods

The Gold of Varna

Puabi headdress

The goat from PG 1237

Before Phoenicia

Tutankhamun's grave goods

Stag Vessel

Valchitran

Before the Iberias

Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi

Kushite king

Gold at Kuntur Wasi

Regolini-Galassi tomb

Condomina Earring

Uni was also Astarte

Ezerovo Ring

Coțofenești helmet

A battle on a comb

The Kul-Oba vase

The Solokha gold comb

The archer in gold

Treasure of Jávea

Susa grave goods

Thoth in the form of a baboon

Faces of the Steppe

Poroina Mare Rhyton

Treasure of Cheste

Marina Alta Hoard

Panagyurishte

Mairena Hoard

Patera from Perotito

Moulds for gold

Gold rhinoceros

A closer look

A sarcophagus widened towards the top

Location and territory

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?