Silver is a soft, white, lustrous metal.  It is highly malleable, and has a low melting point, making it easy to cast.  It can be produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.  It can be highly polished, leading to a very reflective surface.  

Most of the silver found at Ur is in jewelry, but sometimes it is made into axes or mirrors.  These are found mainly in the royal tombs.  

Objects: Silver 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)
8166 (none) (none) (none) Ring of 2 1/2 coils of silver wire.
8185 (none) (none) (none) Silver object. So distorted that shape is unrecognizable: possibly a bowl. Found on the shoulder of the dead person, sticking to the fragments of skull bone.
8201 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Lapis and silver with a few carnelian and some small glazed frit rings.
8227A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Silver earrings. A pair, each made of 2 1/2 spiral turns of silver wire.
8253 (none) (none) (none) Bowl. Silver. Broken and fragmentary. Handle of silver wire twisted through 2 holes on either side perforated immediately below rim. Warped. [drawing? Metal type _.]
8267 (none) (none) (none) Beads. 49 in all - double conoid lapis and carnelian, 1 small silver ball bead, and a number of minute carnelian ring beads. Also 2 gold double conoids.
8268A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] 2 silver rings. One consisting of two, the other of three thick coils.
8268B (none) (none) (none) [A-B] 2 silver rings. One consisting of two, the other of three thick coils.
8279 (none) (none) (none) Pin. Silver. Lapis lazuli ball head. Rounded in section. [drawing 1:2] [type] V
8280 (none) (none) (none) Ring. Silver. 2 coils.
8291 (none) 1928,1009.196 (none) Hair ring or earring. Silver. 1 1/2 coils of thick silver.
8295 (none) (none) (none) 2 beads. 1 double conoid lapis lazuli. 1 double conoid silver.
8303 (none) (none) (none) Silver earrings (one broken). Single coil with broadened ends. [drawing]
8304 (none) (none) (none) Silver razor(?). The flat end of the blade is folded over - very doubtful whether it is a razor at all. [drawing]
8305 (none) (none) (none) Silver earring (one only found). [drawing]
8306A (none) (none) (none) Silver chain [A]. Fragments of. Made with the same sort of crochet link as the gold chain U.8002, giving a square section: but this is thicker and heavier. In 6 fragments. It was almost certainly linked up (like U.8002) with a few beads [B] found with it - 3 large conoids, 2 lapis, 1 silver, and 3 carnelian rings and 1 sard bugle, strung alternately. These are cataloged with the chain.
8309 (none) (none) (none) Silver ear-ring. Originally 2 1/2 spiral coils of thin silver wire: but one coil broken.
8332 (none) (none) (none) Silver object. Probably a mirror. Thin flat metal. The silver is absolutely decayed and reduced to powder: the shape is fairly definite [drawing] but the edges are at present ragged and irregular. Real use of object quite uncertain.
8333 (none) (none) (none) Silver bowl. Oval, or boat-shaped with nearly vertical sides. In very bad condition, but waxed in situ and preserved. The measurements give a rather false idea of the vessel owing to its being crushed badly out of shape. The base measures 0075x0045 and is slightly sunk: the original width was probably c. 014 [Type] LXIII.
8338A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Silver earrings. A pair. One broken. Ordinary type with broadened ends. [drawing]
8358 (none) (none) (none) Silver finger ring. A plain circle of silver wire with the ends overlapping. Found on the finger bone.
8374 (none) (none) (none) Silver pendant. In bad condition. It was suspended on the quadrupal band of silver and lapis beads described on field notes (No. 14). Made of twisted filigree wire wound up into spiral whorls standing in high relief. [drawing] 1:1 (sketch)
8376A (none) (none) (none) Beads. Lapis bugles, small, and carnelian rings. These went to complete the triple collar with silver rings attached. See field notes item 8.
8376C (none) (none) (none) Beads. Silver. Some quadruple tubes from dog collar string, large lentoids which went with the larger lapis lentoids (U.8376B) and smaller beads.
8377 (none) (none) (none) Beads etc. Large silver rings to which are attached spacers pierced by 3 holes: between these were set lapis bugles flanked by carnelian rings: see field notes. Part of the chain preserved as found.

Related Terms

Copper Alloy - Electrum - Gold - Iron - Lead