| Next revision | Previous revision |
| ur_mod._tell_muqayyar [2008/04/17 21:54] – created sara | ur_mod._tell_muqayyar [2016/04/13 14:25] (current) – lafont |
|---|
| ==Introduction== | ==Introduction== |
| |
| Ur is located in southern Iraq just west of the Euphrates ([http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110409841145290061632.000001129fafa181786c3&t=k&om=1&ll=30.96289,46.103096&spn=0.114816,0.140247&z=13 30° 57' 45.55" N 46° 6' 11.03" E]). It was occupied from the Ubaid period (5th millennium BC) until the Neo-Babylonian period (626-539 BC), and was abandoned shortly thereafter, around the 4th century BC. The most impressive remains come from the Early Dynasitc III period Royal Cemetery, and the Ur III period, when Ur was the dominant city of southern Mesopotamia. The remains of the Ur III period Ziggurat are still visible and the overwhelming number of cuneiform tablets from this period have helped shape our understanding of the economy and administration of the Ur III state. | Ur is located in southern Iraq just west of the Euphrates ([[http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&t=k&om=0&ll=30.96289,46.103096&spn=0.114816,0.140247&z=13|30° 57' 45.55" N 46° 6' 11.03" E]]). It was occupied from the Ubaid period (5th millennium BC) until the Neo-Babylonian period (626-539 BC), and was abandoned shortly thereafter, around the 4th century BC. The most impressive remains come from the Early Dynasitc III period Royal Cemetery, and the Ur III period, when Ur was the dominant city of southern Mesopotamia. The remains of the Ur III period Ziggurat are still visible and the overwhelming number of cuneiform tablets from this period have helped shape our understanding of the economy and administration of the Ur III state. |
| |
| ==History of Excavations== | ==History of Excavations== |
| ==Ur in the Ur III Period (2100-2000 BC)== | ==Ur in the Ur III Period (2100-2000 BC)== |
| |
| Between about 2100 to 2000 BC, Ur was the center of the large Ur III kingdom. The most ubiquitous finds from Ur and it’s surrounding territoires in this period are small clay tablets documenting an intricate and expansive administrative system. These tablets also provide us with [http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/dl/yearnames/yn_index.htm year names] that allow us to reconstruct the chronology of this period.[[Image:P118420.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Ur III text: Receipt for seed-grain for the Lagash field, Saharduba, on behalf of Guzani. [http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/P118420 (P118420)]]] | Between about 2100 to 2000 BC, Ur was the center of the large Ur III kingdom. The most ubiquitous finds from Ur and it’s surrounding territoires in this period are small clay tablets documenting an intricate and expansive administrative system. These tablets also provide us with [[http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/dl/yearnames/yn_index.htm|year names]] that allow us to reconstruct the chronology of this period.[[Image:P118420.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Ur III text: Receipt for seed-grain for the Lagash field, Saharduba, on behalf of Guzani. [http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/P118420 (P118420)]]] |
| |
| [[Image:Ur_Plan.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Ziggurat Terrace (Woolley 1939)]]During the Ur III period, the city of Ur occupied around 50 hecatares (124 acres). The raised sacred area of the site, referred to as the Temenos, housed the zigguraut erected by [[Ur-Namma|Ur-Nammu]], the first king of the Ur III dynasty. Previously, temples had been constructed on raised platforms, but it is at cities like Ur, Eridu, [[Uruk (mod. Warka)]], and [[Nippur]] in the Ur III period where true ziggurats, massive, multi-staged platforms with a temple on the uppermost level, first appear. Today, the partially reconstructed bottom two stages are still visible on the site. In antiquity, Ur-Nammu’s ziggurat at Ur probably had three stacked platforms, each faced with a thick layer of baked brick. At the top of the ziggurat stood the temple to the moon god, Nanna. | [[Image:Ur_Plan.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Ziggurat Terrace (Woolley 1939)]]During the Ur III period, the city of Ur occupied around 50 hecatares (124 acres). The raised sacred area of the site, referred to as the Temenos, housed the zigguraut erected by [[Ur-Namma|Ur-Nammu]], the first king of the Ur III dynasty. Previously, temples had been constructed on raised platforms, but it is at cities like Ur, Eridu, [[Uruk (mod. Warka)]], and [[Nippur]] in the Ur III period where true ziggurats, massive, multi-staged platforms with a temple on the uppermost level, first appear. Today, the partially reconstructed bottom two stages are still visible on the site. In antiquity, Ur-Nammu’s ziggurat at Ur probably had three stacked platforms, each faced with a thick layer of baked brick. At the top of the ziggurat stood the temple to the moon god, Nanna. |
| ==References== | ==References== |
| |
| *Pollock, S. "Ur." In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,'' vol. 5, 288-291. New York: Oxford University, 1997. | * Crawford Harriet. ''Ur. The City of the Moon God'' Archaeological Histories. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015 |
| | * Pollock, S. "Ur." In '' The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,'' vol. 5, 288-291. New York: Oxford University, 1997. |
| *Woolley, C. L. ''The Sumerians''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995 (1929). | * Woolley, C. L. ''The Sumerians''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995 (1929). |
| | * Woolley, C. L. ''Ur''. London and New York: Penguin, 1946. |
| *Woolley, C. L. ''Ur''. London and New York: Penguin, 1946. | * Woolley, C. L. ''Ur of the Chaldees''. Revised by P. R. S. Moorey. London: Herbert, 1982. |
| | * Woolley, C. L. et al. ''Ur Excavations.'' 10 vols. London and Philadelphia: Oxford University 1927-1951. |
| *Woolley, C. L. ''Ur of the Chaldees''. Revised by P. R. S. Moorey. London: Herbert, 1982. | |
| | |
| *Woolley, C. L. et al. ''Ur Excavations.'' 10 vols. London and Philadelphia: Oxford University 1927-1951. | |
| | |
| [[Site Descriptions]] | [[Site Descriptions]] |
| |
