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 |
Files
Object | U Number | Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number) | Museum Number (BM Registration Number) | Museum Number (UPM B-number) | Description (Catalog Card) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 668 | (none) | (none) | (none) | spindle whorl pebble. |
![]() | 677 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Pot. Drab clay. Wheelmade. Top broken. Type LXV =RC.67 =P.201 |
678 | (none) | 1923,1110.93 | (none) | Incense bowl(?) Fragment. Clay. Shallow bowl: below, in relief, the fingers of a human hand, moulded and finished off with a tool. Compare the N.Syrian steatite examples. | |
![]() | 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] | |
688 | (none) | 1923,1110.109 | (none) | Terracotta relief. Upper part only, moulded. Grotesque female figure with elaborate headdress. Hands clasped below breasts. [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. |
725 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Fragment of tablet. Sumerian account. Placed in IN/No. 1. | |
![]() | 745A | (none) | (none) | (none) | Fragments of a large sumerian account tablet, dated in several years including the fifth year of Gimil-Sin. Placed in box numbered U.745. |
![]() | 746 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Fragment of clay cone. Parts of Ur-Engur, probably concerning E-temen-ni-il. Placed in IN/No. 4. |
![]() | 747 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay cone. Nearly complete. Ur-Engur's inscription concering E-temen-ni-il. Placed in IN/No. 4. |
![]() | 748 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Fragment of clay cone. Ur-Engur's inscription concering E-temen-ni-il. Duplicate of U.201. Placed in IN/No. 4. |
![]() | 749 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Small fragment of obsidian, with parts of signs from 2 lines. Illegible. |
![]() | 757 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay bottle. Drab clay. ? Hand made. Type LXII =P.94. Found with U.758. |
![]() | 758 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Drab clay. Glazed red. wheelmade. Type LXXI =P.140 found with U.757 |
Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 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 V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings | Ur Excavations V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings | 1939 | Woolley Leonard | (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
Sibling Locations
AH Site | AH - City Wall | CLW - DP - Dublalmah | LL - EH Site | EH - Ehursag | HT - EM Site | EM - Enunmah | TTB | ES - ESB - FH - Giparu | KP - Great Nanna Courtyard | PD - Harbor Temple - House 34/1 - House 34/2 - House Site - Kassite Fort - KPS Site | KPS - LT - LW - Mausoleum Site | BC - Neo-Babylonian Housing | NH - NNCF - NTB - P/103 - Palace of Bel-Shalti-Nannar | AD - Pit F - Royal Cemetery | PG - SM - TTC - XNCF - Ziggurat Terrace | ZT