Imports to Ur

Imports to Ur reflect the cultural and trade connections of the Sumerian city of Ur. During the period of the Early Dynastic III royal cemetery (ca. 2600 BC), Ur was importing elite goods from geographically distant places. These objects include precious metals such as gold and silver, and semi-precious stones, namely lapis lazuli and carnelian. These objects are all the more impressive considering the distance from which they traveled to reach Mesopotamia and Ur specifically.

Mesopotamia is very well suited to agricultural production for both plants and animals but is lacking in metals, minerals and stones. These materials were traded by both land and water, although bulk transportation is only possible by water as it is cheaper and faster. River transportation greatly aided Mesopotamian crafts from very early in the fourth millennium. The Euphrates provided access to Syria and Anatolia as well as the Gulf, and many trading posts were set up along the river. The Tigris, in general, is less hospitable to travel and was therefore used less than the Euphrates for trade. Pack-animals such as donkeys and mules were used for overland trade. The combination of these means of transportation allowed access to distant areas and a vast trading network.

Most of the gold known from archaeological contexts in ancient Mesopotamia is concentrated at the royal cemetery at Ur (and later in the Neo-Assyrian graves at Nimrod). Textual evidence indicates that gold was reserved for prestige and religious functions. It was gathered in royal treasuries, temples and used for adornment of elite peoples as well as funerary offerings (such as the graves at Ur). Gold is used for personal ornaments, weapons and tools, sheet-metal cylinder seals, vessels such as fluted bowls, goblets and imitation cockle shells, and as additions to sculpture.

...
Wikipedia