Context Title: Ziggurat     
Context Name (Publication): Ziggurat     
Context Name (Excavation): Zig.     
Context Description: The ziggurat was a focus of Woolley's work in many seasons. It was covered in millennia of dirt and it took the initial seasons just to clear this away. In the process, many artifacts were discovered but Woolley did not assign a separate excavation area abbreviation other than Zig. and this does not always refer solely to the Ziggurat but also to its immediate surroundings. When Woolley listed Ziggurat or Zig as the context for an artifact, he usually included that it was at the foot, along the south wall, or some other region of the ziggurat itself. In 1931, however, he began using the code Zig.31 to indicate the deep cuts across and in front of the northern terrace that were essentially under the excavation area PDW. Many of the artifacts with the excavation area abbreviation Zig.31 come from the Ubaid period. The terrace was packed with soil gathered from earlier deposits at Ur, and thus the fill itself contained very early remains. J.G. Taylor first investigated the ziggurat in 1854,R. Campbell Thomson in 1918 and HR Hall in 1919. Hall uncovered the southern portion and dug into the ziggurat itself to retrieve foundation cylinders of Nabonidus. Woolley worked extensively on the ziggurat, stating that there were only three seasons where it was not worked on in some form. In some of these seasons, however, it was really the ziggurat terrace and its buildings that were the main focus.     

Objects: Ziggurat Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Object U Number Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number) Museum Number (BM Registration Number) Museum Number (UPM B-number) Description (Catalog Card)
1166 (none) (none) B15616 Portion from the shaft of a large clay cone, with inscription of Warad-Sin, king of Larsa, duplicate of U.641, etc. joined from 4 small fragments. P.
1157 (none) (none) (none) Portion of baked clay barrel-cylinder of Nabonidus, inscribed as U.1111, U.1131, etc. 16 lines, column I and 5 column II.
1156 (none) (none) (none) Fragment of baked clay barrel-cylinder of nabonidus, inscription duplicate of that upon U.1111, U.1113, etc. Fragments of 15 lines, from column I.
1155 (none) (none) (none) Fragment from small baked clay barrel-cylinder of Nabonidus. Fragments of 4 lines, from Column I. Inscription of duplicate of U.1111, U.1113, etc. Probably part of same object as U.1154 but does not join.
1154 (none) (none) B15618 Fragment from right side of small baked clay barrel-cylinder of Nabonidus. 17 lines from 2nd column. Inscription duplicate of U.1111, U.1131, etc. P.
1151 (none) (none) B15617 Portion (about half) of small baked clay cylinder of Nabonidus, duplicate of U.1111 etc. Found in 2 pieces and joined. P.
1132 (none) (none) (none) Fragment from left side of backed clay cylinder of Nabonidus. Part of same object as U.1113, but does not join. (Joins a later discovered fragmnet, completing the left end of the cylinder) Joins U.1131, and another fragment unnumbered making up part of complete cylinder.
1131 (none) (none) (none) Fragment from middle of a baked clay cylinder of Nabonidus (cf. U.1132, U.1111) in 2 columns 2 3/8 [60.325mm] by 1 3/4 [44.45mm] inscription concerning the building of E-lugal-galga-si-sa, the Ziggurat of Ur. Joins U.1132, and another fragment unnumbered making up part of complete cylinder.
1111 (none) (none) (none) Fragment (711) of New Babylonian Clay cylinder with inscription for Nabonidus (cf. Langdon, Neubab.Konigsinscar. P.250ff.) Duplicate of U.1131, U.1132 and other fragments unnumbered making up part of the complete cylinder.
10612 52-30-28 (none) (none) Tablet Business document Concerning payments cf. SE. Persian period (?) No date. HC..400.

Media: Ziggurat Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Media Media Title Title Label Author Omeka Label
Field Photographs Field Photographs GN0097 GN0097 (none)
Field Photographs Field Photographs GN0098 GN0098 (none)
Field Photographs Field Photographs GN0099 GN0099 (none)
UPM Field Photo numbers UPM Field Photo numbers (none) (none) (none)
Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings 1939 Woolley Leonard (none)
  • 5 Media