Temenos Wall | TW

Context Title: Temenos Wall | TW     
Context Name (Excavation): TW     
Context Name (Publication): Temenos Wall     
Context Description: The excavation area abbreviation TW stands for Temenos Wall, a wall that surrounded the ziggurat terrace and its extended sacred space in the northern central portion of the city of Ur through much of its history. The wall may have begun in the Early Dynastic period, as Woolley found some indication of what he believed to be its earliest foundation. There was clearly an Ur III period version that ran south of the giparu and then further southeast to encompass the ehursag. This was the general line of the wall through the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian and into the Kassite period, though the Kassites made some changes in the northern portion. Finally, the Neo-Babylonians changed the wall greatly, expanding the area encompassed to the north and south and adding several gateways. The foundations of this later, quite massive, wall often destroyed earlier remains. Woolley explored parts of the temenos wall in many seasons and frequently used the TW abbreviation for the wall in any of its building periods. Other excavation area abbreviations include parts of the temenos, particularly NCF, PDW and BC. The temenos wall built by Urnamma was 6 meters thick and built of mud brick with a baked brick facing. Most of the baked brick had been removed, probably for later building. The Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus temenos wall had chambers within it and sported six gates into the temenos area. This area was known as e-gish-nu-gal (Woolley read this e-gish-shir-gal). At least one later interpretation conflates TW with the phrase Town Wall, but the wall surrounding Ur was always referred to as the city wall, (CLW).     
Season Number: 01: 1922-1923      
Season Number: 03: 1924-1925      
Season Number: 05: 1926-1927      
Season Number: 11: 1932-1933      
Season Number: 12: 1933-1934      

Objects: Temenos Wall | TW 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)
650 (none) (none) (none) Bronze tool. Rather thick metal, square hafted. [drawing 1:1]
651 (none) (none) (none) Clay figurine fr. of. Bull, roughly modeled and painted with details in black on greenish-drab clay. [drawing]
653 (none) (none) (none) Amulet(?). Fragment. (lower part missing) of a seated lion(?) carved in brown pebble. [drawing]
656 (none) (none) B15196 Terracotta relief of a lion probably only the core, moulded and intended to be covered over with a slip in which the finer detail was rendered. [drawing]
657 (none) (none) (none) Pot. Covered with greenish-white glaze. [below] Type XCI. =p.183
658 (none) (none) (none) Pot of coarse drab clay, black inside, rim chipped. [below] Type LXVIII but has a flat bottom like U.767. [circled] not p.
659 (none) (none) (none) 2 Bronze anklets. Plain, corroded together: one - broken.
665 (none) (none) (none) Pot, fragments of: Handmade, of black ware. Ornamented, in imitation of metal work, with wreath, etc., + bold fluting in relief. Very remarkable stuff. See No.'s See for U.666, U.667 [drawing]
666 (none) (none) (none) Beads of carnelian, amethystine, quartz, agate, etc.
667 (none) (none) (none) Seal. Flattened roundel slightly domed on top, of yellowish white pebble with roughly engraved design on face. Pierced horizontally. [below] See No.'s 665,6 [drawing 1:1]
668 (none) (none) (none) spindle whorl pebble.
677 (none) (none) (none) Pot. Drab clay. Wheelmade. Top broken. Type LXV =RC.67 =P.201
680 (none) (none) (none) Clay bottle. Red clay with drab engobbage. Wheelmade. Top broken. Type LXI =new L type =P.201a. (L47) [reference to drawing, presumably this is the new L type] [drawing]
681 (none) (none) (none) Clay bowl. Drab clay, wheelmade, broken. Type LXVII but with rim. Not p.
682 (none) (none) B15383 Clay cup. Type LIV =P76b [typology]. Grave not P series.
683 (none) (none) (none) Clay bowl. Drab clay, wheelmade, broken. Type unknown. Scrapped.
684 (none) (none) (none) Clay figurine. Headless: moulded. Figure in long drapery concealing feet, hands clasped on breast. Male? Heavy work, no detail.
687 (none) (none) B14997 Terracotta relief. In greenish clay. A kneeling woman (headless) suckling a child.[drawing 1:1]
689 (none) (none) (none) Pot. Or bottle. Coarse reddish clay, small-necked, globular body, badly rotted with salt. Type LX= New(P)184
690 (none) (none) (none) Bronze bracelet. With snake-head ends.
691 (none) (none) (none) Bronze finger ring. Plain wire, the ends overlapping.
714 (none) (none) (none) Fragment. Complete. Dated only by month.
717 (none) (none) (none) Fragment of top of Cone. Ur-Engur's inscription concerning E-temen-ni-iil. Scrapped. See U. 201. Placed in IN/No. 4.
718 (none) (none) (none) Fragment of clay cone. Only ends of lines, illegible. Thrown out. Placed in IN/No. 2.
721 (none) (none) (none) Fragment of large clay cone. Parts of end of 2nd clumn. Placed in IN/No. 4.

Media: Temenos Wall | TW Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Media Media Title Title Label Author Omeka Label
Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings 1939 Woolley Leonard (none)
Ur Excavations IX; The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods Ur Excavations IX; The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods 1962 Woolley, L. and Mallowan, Max (none)
Ur Excavations VIII; The Kassite Period and the period of the Assyrian Kings Ur Excavations VIII; The Kassite Period and the period of the Assyrian Kings 1965 Woolley, Leonard (none)
  • 3 Media

Share

Email | Edit

Context

Ur > Temenos Wall | TW

References

Woolley, L. and Mallowan, Max. (1962) Ur Excavations IX; The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Woolley Leonard. (1939) Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Woolley, Leonard. (1965 ) Ur Excavations VIII; The Kassite Period and the period of the Assyrian Kings, Oxford: Oxford University Press.