TTE

General

Context Title:	TTE
Context Name (Excavation):	Trial trench E
Context Name (Publication):	Royal Cemetery Area
Context Description:	TTE is shorthand for Trial Trench E, one of two initial trenches dug in season 5 to extend TTA from season 1. Woolley dug TTE and TTD at right angles to each other in order to search for graves in what he believed was a potentially vast cemetery. These trenches were never mapped and no aerial photos show them, as by the time of the 1930 photograph the trial trenches had been so extended that most of the Royal Cemetery area was exposed. Fortunately, Woolley's field records allow us to reconstruct its direction and extents. He states that TTE extended southwest to the south gate of the Neo-Babylonian temenos wall. This would make it about 85 meters in length, and though he does not tell us its width it is likely that it was around 4 meters, the same as the measurable trial trenches A, B, and C. Although Woolley reports that he dug "two long trenches running diagonally across the site from the head of the old trench" only TTD can actually have begun at the northern end of TTA. TTE extends at a right angle to TTD, but it does so 8 meters from the northeast corner of TTA. In order to place TTE accurately, other information has been used from field notes and publications. These show that TTE struck PG580 but did not completely reveal it. In fact, Woolley began to dig part of PG580 from the side of the trial trench because he had cut through it without recognizing its full importance. He had to leave this particular grave at the end of the season and return to it in season 6. TTE also hit the stone roofing of PG777 but left it intact. PG580 and PG777 were mapped and show the direction and general placement of TTE. TTE almost immediately began revealing graves, some of them relatively rich in gold jewelry. It is probably for this reason that Woolley did not continue TTD to any great depth but chose instead to focus on TTE. In fact, he later began extending TTE into new trenches along the same line (TTF and TTG). He assigned numbers to each grave as it was uncovered, preceded by the abbreviation PG (Private Grave). The initial sequence, PG1-PG226 were all located within TTE. The sequence then began to share with TTF and eventually with TTG. Unfortunately, none of the first 579 graves were ever mapped within the length of their trial trenches.
Season Number:	05: 1926-1927

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Objects: TTE 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)
(none)	(none)	(none)	B17546	Unknown
(none)	(none)	1927,1003.278	(none)	(none)
11225	(none)	(none)	(none)	Copper Lamp and Bowl. Corroded together. Lamp: head end slightly broken, normal shell type.
14082	31-43-242	(none)	(none)	Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Men fighting rampant lion.
18337	33-35-169	(none)	(none)	Stamp seal. Grey steatite. Circular, with convex tip, pierced horizontally. Subject: 2 animals, a third animal and an unrecognizable object: engraved mostly with the circular drill.
19134	(none)	(none)	(none)	Copper cauldron. Type _. Inside it a copper bowl, Type 3(?) inverted: diam. circ.
7641	(none)	(none)	B16861	Cylinder seal. Green stone. Slightly concave. Broken in antiquity but remended and complete. Gilgamesh and Enkidu back to back the former fighting a rampant bull the latter fighting a rampant lion.
7645	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Calcite. White. Blackened by fire. Type III.
7646	(none)	1928,1009.511	(none)	Stone vase. Limestone. White. Slightly indented rim. Blackened by fire. Type LXIII stone.
7650	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. Green. Small portion of rim missing. Type LIV stone.
7651	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Basic diorite. Green. Broken and riveted in antiquity. Type VII stone.
7652	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Dark green. Basic diorite. Blackened by fire. Type LV stone
7654	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone vase. Calcite. White, yellowish veins. Broken and rivetted in antiquity. Part of rim missing. Type LVI.
7655	(none)	(none)	(none)	Stone bowl. Calcite. Semi-translucent. Greenish. Broken but complete. Type XXIV stone.
7656	(none)	(none)	B16865	Cylinder seal. Marble. Mottled grey and black. Slightly concave. Gilgamesh fighting rampant lion; Enkidu fighting rampant bull; lion and bull back to back. c. 2800BC.
7667	30-12-163	(none)	(none)	Clay vase. Miniature. In form of a nut? with flattened body. Dark greenish drab. Chipped on one side. [drawing 3:4 approx.] Type _
7702C	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] LipitIstar = U.4 etc. etc. B. (somewhat broken) [B] Another (good specimen). [C] Another (part). [D-E] Two more fragments. [F] Another fragment. [G] Another fragment. (cf. also U.7845).
7713C	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay cones = Ur Nammu of Etemiennigur (SAK 188 A) = U.701 etc. [A-B] 2 whole, [C-X] 22 fragmentary from various places throughout the season. All to B[aghdad] except 1 whole and 1 broken)
7771B	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay cone fragments. [A] 1) Ur Nammu = U.918, 2521. [B] 2) Another nearly complete.
7772D	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Clay cone (fragm) Sumuilum = U.2634, 2778. [B] Another. [C] Another fragment perhaps belonging with preceding. [D] Another. [E] Another. [F-I] 4 more; one with text complete. [J]1 more: with text complete (nearly) (all but one to B[aghdad])
7772G	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Clay cone (fragm) Sumuilum = U.2634, 2778. [B] Another. [C] Another fragment perhaps belonging with preceding. [D] Another. [E] Another. [F-I] 4 more; one with text complete. [J]1 more: with text complete (nearly) (all but one to B[aghdad])
7772I	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Clay cone (fragm) Sumuilum = U.2634, 2778. [B] Another. [C] Another fragment perhaps belonging with preceding. [D] Another. [E] Another. [F-I] 4 more; one with text complete. [J]1 more: with text complete (nearly) (all but one to B[aghdad])
7772J	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A] Clay cone (fragm) Sumuilum = U.2634, 2778. [B] Another. [C] Another fragment perhaps belonging with preceding. [D] Another. [E] Another. [F-I] 4 more; one with text complete. [J]1 more: with text complete (nearly) (all but one to B[aghdad])
7835	(none)	(none)	(none)	Seal impression? on circular clay. Theriomarchy. edge and reverse striated.
7839B	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablets. (A) Round school? tablet. (B) label with seal impression. (C) fragments of envelope with seal impress. a-ab-[cuneiform] [cuneiform] ^dNin [cuneiform] (D) curious tablet with linear pattern. (E) " dub ma ^dNanna(r)-Ka " (F) [remarked g?] ? lists of ... (2 fragts) (G) [remarked d?] fragts of large account tablets. cf. U.8822. unmarked: numerous small business tablets mostly complete. Of the 5 which have cases and seal imp. NB. the n. prop. Ur PA-LU-LU (= Sib-udu? a new god?) and on another the rare god in Lu\ ^dSukal-an.