Pit W

General

Context Title:	Pit W
Context Name (Publication):	Pit W
Context Name (Excavation):	Pit W
Context Description:	Pit W was excavated from the bottom of area PG near Pits Y and Z in order to more fully explore the Seal Impression Strata discovered running across the cemetery. Since these strata contained so many early seals and tablets it was clear that they were essential for dating the graves and for learning more about the administration of the city of Ur. In order to observe the strata more clearly, Pit W was much larger than most exploratory pits in the cemetery region, laid out to be 15x7 meters. It was dug from the northeast side of PG/1631 but its horizontal extents were not mapped and Benati (2015) believes that PG/1631 was mistaken for PG/1648, placing Pit W somewhat farther SE. Its published stratigraphic profile shows that PG/1631 (possibly 1648) was actually somewhere near the middle of the long side of the trench and Woolley states that Pit W was placed so as to virtually fill the gap between Pits Y and Z, but was set a few meters northeast of them. This allows for a relatively accurate placement of the pit. Pit W quickly ran through the seal impression strata but Woolley continued it down much farther, as he had with Pits Y and Z, to reach about a meter below sea level. He thus uncovered many graves earlier than the main Royal Cemetery, and because he believed them to be from the Jemdet Nasr period, he began JNG numbers for them. This discovery, combined with early graves in Pit Y, spawned the conception of a Jemdet Nasr cemetery running beneath and south of the Royal Cemetery, and in season 12 Woolley would seek to expose it in Pit X.

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General

Objects: Pit W Export: JSON - XML - CSV

U Number	Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number)	Museum Number (BM Registration Number)	Museum Number (UPM B-number)	Description (Catalog Card)
18461	33-35-79	(none)	(none)	Copper pin. With decorated head thus: [reference to drawing] [drawing]
18570	(none)	(none)	(none)	Copper pin. With small ball head. [drawing]
18504	(none)	(none)	(none)	Cup. Basic diorite. [Type] 30. [drawing 2:5]
18463	(none)	1933,1013.82	(none)	Cylinder seal. Bright dark red stone (jasper?). Approved with 2 animals and a bird in procession.
18647	33-35-97	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. Distorted. [The following note is an addition to original text] Not in cat. Vol IV.
18646	(none)	1933,1013.62	(none)	Lead tumbler. Distroed and one side decayed. Not in catalog.
18556	(none)	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. Much distorted. The sides are turned inwards at the base to secure the bottom, which seems to be a separatedisk of the metal. In section, thus: [reference to drawing]? Proper to Vol. IV. [drawing]
18645	(none)	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. One side decayed away. One side slightly concave.
18657	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. The base broken in antiquity and mended with bitumen. Sides slightl convex.
18429	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. [drawing]
18671	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. [Type] 12. [drawing]
18588	33-35-154	(none)	(none)	Pottery bead (half of). The design carved in the clay after firing. [drawing 1:1]
18589	(none)	(none)	(none)	Pottery bead. The design carved in the clay after firing. [drawing 1:1]
18502C	(none)	(none)	(none)	Shells. [A] 1) A cowrie, large, cut to form of cup. [B] 2) Conch shell cut as a lamp. [C] 3) Shell . [drawing]
18502B	(none)	(none)	(none)	Shells. [A] 1) A cowrie, large, cut to form of cup. [B] 2) Conch shell cut as a lamp. [C] 3) Shell . [drawing]
18502A	(none)	(none)	(none)	Shells. [A] 1) A cowrie, large, cut to form of cup. [B] 2) Conch shell cut as a lamp. [C] 3) Shell . [drawing]
18442	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stamp seal. Button type: pierced horizontally grey steatite. In the convex top are 6 shallow holes drilled, partly to take inlay: on the flat base is a roughly engraved subject.
19424	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stoen vase. White limestone. JN 26
18444	(none)	1933,1013.151	(none)	Stone base. Miniature. Diorite. [type] 29. [drawing 1:1]
18519	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl or mortar. Limestone. The outside left rough. [Type] 26. [drawing]
18516	33-35-100	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Banded limestone. [Type] 10. [drawing]
18538	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. (loose and pitted stone) [Type] 7. [drawing]
18631	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. Broken and imperfect. [Type] 16. [drawing]
18632	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. Broken and imperfect. [Type] 4. [drawing]
18563	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. Coarse deeply pitted stone. [Type] 24. [drawing]