17898
Description (Catalog Card): | Beads. Mixed lot, off many shapes and materials, found in or just below the floor of an early Neo-Babylonian level and presumably of that date, though some may well be old beads re-used. Shapes include ball, ring, cylinder, rhomboid, diamond, date shaped, elliptical, polygonal, double conoid, poppyseed, chisel, pear pendant, one miniature celt. Materials include carnelian, marble, steatite, sard, calcite, quartz, amethyst, agate, mother of pearl, shell, glazed frit, limestone (?), granite, hematite, crystal.1 |
Find Context (Catalog Card): | Level II A. |
Material (Catalog Card): | Marble2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Steatite2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Sard2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Quartz2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Mother-of-pearl2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Shell2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Lime2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Haematite2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Crystal2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Agate2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Amethyst2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Calcite2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Carnelian2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Frit2 |
Material (Catalog Card): | Granite2 |
[1] Woolley's description |
[2] Material as described by Woolley |
Files
Location | Context Title | Context Description | Description (Modern) |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | XNCF | This area lies along the edge of northwest temenos wall east of the Nebuchadnezzar Corner Fort (NCF). It was partly explored in season 1 when late graves were found in what at that time were called Cemeteries X, Y, and Z. In seasons 10 and 11 the larger area of late domestic space, or mostly that to the northwest, was more systematically excavated as area NNCF and the 'cemeteries' were found to be graves beneath heavily deteriorated late houses. Publication of area XNCF in UE8 discusses the remains of domestic buildings found east of NCF and Warad Sin's Bastion along the temenos wall and the northern extent of the Nanna Courtyard (PD). XNCF as a whole, however, appears to have included the long range of Kassite magazines extending under and somewhat beyond the Neo-Babylonian temenos wall. These were broken into rows A, B, and C, and field catalogue cards referring to XNCF often record one of these letters and a room number in the contextual notes. Thus XNCF contained public buildings between the ziggurat terrace and the temenos wall (including a clear reference to the Kuriglazu addition to the Warad Sin Bastion), and domestic buildings and burials somewhat beyond (north of) the northwest temenos wall. | (none) |
AH Site | AH | In the southeast portion of the mound of Ur, Woolley excavated a large horizontal extent of domestic space roughly 115 x 85m. near the surface he found scattered Neo-Babylonian and Kassite remains and intrusive graves of the late periods but he did not publish these in detail nor are there any extant notes covering them. Instead, Woolley's main goal was to uncover the best preserved floorplans of houses. These he found several meters down, houses of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian period. Because the Old Babylonian period was typically that associated with the potential time of Abraham, Woolley used the abbreviation AH (Abraham's Housing) to refer to this excavation area. In the course of excavation of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian levels Woolley numbered 27 'houses,' or excavation units. He renumbered the houses for publication based on the overall plan, preserved walls, and doors onto streets. In this way he showed there were 52 individual houses within his 27 excavation areas. However, houses were frequently altered throughout period, as families would knock out walls or block up doors, and thus true house numbers are difficult to establish. Woolley mentions phases of rebuilding, but states that he sought the best preserved floor plan and published the excavation of a particular house based on that plan alone. In some cases he noted deeper remains that may have gone back to the Ur III period. These levels he partially uncovered as he excavated graves beneath the Larsa period floors. A great deal of baked brick was in use for walls of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian period. Some houses used it in the lowest portion of a wall, but others used it for entire walls up to 3 meters in height. Town planning was not evident, as streets tended to wander in narrow and winding paths. Corners where streets met were often rounded, leading Woolley to surmise that this was to prevent problems with laden donkeys catching their wares on corners. Many houses had a domestic chapel within, often with family burials beneath the floor. Communal chapels were also noted, at least four being identified in the area. Finally, Woolley believed that some buildings were specifically used for commercial activities (shops), though this is difficult to prove. | (none) |
- 2 Locations
Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 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) |
Woolley's Catalog Cards | Woolley's Catalog Cards | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:70 Page:99 | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:70 Page:99 | (none) |
- 2 Media