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)
18720A	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Lead tumbler with [B] clay pot. Lead tumbler distorted, but approximate dimensions diam 012, height 0055, covering the neck of spouted jar type JNG sj8. (but without line of ornamentation round shoulder). dimensions height 022, diam 016-5 base 008 made of light yellow clay.
18720B	33-35-1	(none)	(none)	[A] Lead tumbler with [B] clay pot. Lead tumbler distorted, but approximate dimensions diam 012, height 0055, covering the neck of spouted jar type JNG sj8. (but without line of ornamentation round shoulder). dimensions height 022, diam 016-5 base 008 made of light yellow clay.
18719A	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Lead tumbler cover [for] [B] clay pot. Lead tumbler completely distorted, but approximate dimensions 8cm height x base 7 covering the neck of spouted jar type JNG sj3.
18719B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Lead tumbler cover [for] [B] clay pot. Lead tumbler completely distorted, but approximate dimensions 8cm height x base 7 covering the neck of spouted jar type JNG sj3.
18328	(none)	(none)	(none)	Whetstone. Lapis lazuli, on a gold ring. Stone square in section with levelled corners: The ring is of fairly thick gold wire the ends of which have been thinned and twisted round each other.
18481	(none)	(none)	(none)	Vase, stone. Greenish steatite. [Type] 61. [drawing]
18528	(none)	(none)	(none)	Terracotta head. Broken off at neck. Of a typical Al Obaid figure. Drab clay, not painted. [drawing]
18527	33-35-20	(none)	(none)	Terracotta figurine. Fragment of: one of the Al Obaid female figures: nude but with a black painted girdle: the feet and the body above the waist missing. [drawing]
18629	(none)	(none)	(none)	Terracotta figurine. Fragment of breasts shoulders and upper arms of an arcahic figurine of the TO [Tel Obaid] typ, modelled in the round. On the arms and shoulders are applied clay pellets imitating tattoo marks? [drawing 1:1]
18717	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. White marble. [Type] 50. [drawing]
18672	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Transluscent white calcite. [Type] 59. [drawing]
18573	(none)	1933,1013.154	(none)	Stone vase. Transluscent grey calcite. [drawing]
18524	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Rather coarse grey limestone. The outside carved in relief with a row of 5 bulls in profile, advancing right, their heads turned outwards: each in attached from behind by a lion. [drawing]
18517	33-35-112	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Miniature. Limestone. Roughly made, irregular. [Type] 50. [drawing]
18572	33-35-111	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Grey transluscent calcite. Same type as U.18571, (JN.57) but without the slight plate base. Rim much chipped. JN.59.
18571	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Grey transluscent calcite. Rim much chipped. [Type] 57. [drawing]
18466	(none)	1933,1013.153	(none)	Stone vase. Grey steatite. Type 60. [drawing 1:1]
19277	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. White limestone. Type J.N. 26.
18658	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone tumbler. Limestone. (broken and improper). Straight nearly vertical sides.
18575	33-35-108	(none)	(none)	Stone tumbler. Fine grained limestone. [Type] 35. [drawing]
18535	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone tumbler. Diorite. [Type] 30. [drawing]
18539	(none)	1933,1013.147	(none)	Stone tumbler. Diorite. [Type] 30. [drawing]
18531	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone tumbler. Basic diorite. [Type] 35. [drawing]
18546	33-35-109	(none)	(none)	Stone tumbler. Basic diorite. [Type] 30. [drawing]
18480	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone saucer. Basic diorite. [Type] 16. [drawing.