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)
12281C (none) (none) (none) Group: (A) [A and D] Two gold earrings; 2 1/2 coils (B) [B, E-F] Three gold finger rings made of fine strands of twisted wire (C) Silver pin - straight type - Lapis ball head & gold cap. Broken.
12291 (none) (none) (none) Silver earring. 1 1/2 spiral coils. Thickened ends.
12297 (none) 1929,1017.300 (none) Beads. Lapis barrels & ovoids and some silver.
12303 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Carnelian rings. Lapis barrels, double conoids, balls, flattened truncated cone. A few silver.
12304 (none) 1929,1017.403 (none) Beads. Two large facetted lapis double conoids, 1-silver. Originally forming a frontlet.
12306 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Small lapis lentoids and a few silver.
12307 (none) 1930,1213.542 (none) Necklace. Beads consisting of Lapis & silver balls.
12308 30-12-694 (none) (none) Necklace. Lapis & silver large lentoids. Carnelian rings.
12309 30-12-693 (none) (none) Silver Pin. Bent type. Lapis ball head with gold cap. Broken. Type VI B.
12312A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Earrings. A pair. 2 earrings of 3 coils of spiral silver wire & 3 coils of gold wire.
12334A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Silver earrings. A pair. 2 interwoven coils with lunate ends to each ring.
12353B (none) (none) (none) Harp with [A] inlaid sounding box, mosaic imprints, silver top bar, decorated with a [B] bull's head, beaded, in gold, below which are [C] shell plaques.
12354 (none) 1929,1017.2 (none) Harp of silver throughout the sounding-box decorated with a band of blue and white strip inlay and with a cow's head in silver. For measurement drawing see field notes. [Photos 1210-1214 and 1218 show object in situ, 1341 shows restoration]
12355 30-12-253 (none) (none) Harp of silver throughout. The body is boat shaped and the front upright is supported by a silver statue of a stag 700mm high, its forefeet resting in the crook of a long-stemmed arrow-leafed plant which rises up on each side of the head (this in copper). [All photos depict object in situ except 1339 which shows restoration]
12357B 30-12-702 (none) (none) [A, B] Statues of rams. A pair. With gold heads and legs; lapis horns, eyes and manes; shell fleeces; silver bellies; the plants and flowers gold; mounted on silver stands with pink and white mosaic diaper. The ram stands on his hind legs, the front legs doubled up and shackled to the stems of tall plants whose arrowhead shaped leaves & rosette flowers rise on each side of the head. Gold sockets rising from the shoulder shows that they were supports for something : of this the only possible trace was a white substance, perhaps leather, which lay under the second animal found. The first animal [A] is rather badly broken & the legs & part of the rump are separate but the thickness of the body is preserved : the second [B] is squashed quite flat but keeps its silhouette & only 3 of the flowers are detached.
12357A (none) 1929,1017.1 (none) [A, B] Statues of rams. A pair. With gold heads and legs; lapis horns, eyes and manes; shell fleeces; silver bellies; the plants and flowers gold; mounted on silver stands with pink and white mosaic diaper. The ram stands on his hind legs, the front legs doubled up and shackled to the stems of tall plants whose arrowhead shaped leaves & rosette flowers rise on each side of the head. Gold sockets rising from the shoulder shows that they were supports for something : of this the only possible trace was a white substance, perhaps leather, which lay under the second animal found. The first animal [A] is rather badly broken & the legs & part of the rump are separate but the thickness of the body is preserved : the second [B] is squashed quite flat but keeps its silhouette & only 3 of the flowers are detached.
12358A (none) 1929,1017.100 (none) Canopy (?) Fragments. (A) The mosaic border of the curved bar. (B) The top bar (?) with gold bands, silver plating, mosaic band and shell rings and studs and (C) Staves with copper spearheads mounted with gold foil.
12358B (none) 1929,1017.101 (none) Canopy (?) Fragments. (A) The mosaic border of the curved bar. (B) The top bar (?) with gold bands, silver plating, mosaic band and shell rings and studs and (C) Staves with copper spearheads mounted with gold foil.
12359B (none) (none) (none) Group. [A.1-.2] Pair of gold lunate earrings. [B] Silver wire spiral coil hair ring. [C] Lapis double round beads. (Some of the beads from this burial are mixed up with No. 2 (U.12360)
12360B.1 (none) 1929,1017.230 (none) Group. Comprising: [A.1-.2] Pair of large gold lunate earrings. [B.1-.2] Pair of silver wire spiral coil hair rings. [C.1-.2] Lapis and some carnelian beads. [D-G] Shell rings. [H Silver pin. Listed on BM record]
12360B.2 (none) 1929,1017.231 (none) Group. Comprising: [A.1-.2] Pair of large gold lunate earrings. [B.1-.2] Pair of silver wire spiral coil hair rings. [C.1-.2] Lapis and some carnelian beads. [D-G] Shell rings. [H Silver pin. Listed on BM record]
12361A (none) (none) (none) Group. Comprising: [A] One earring, 2 spiral coils of silver wire interlaced. [B] A quantity of small lapis lentoid beads.
12362C 30-12-565 (none) (none) Group [A.1-.2] (1) Large gold lunate earrings. [B.1-.2] (2) One large gold flower. [C] (3) Silver pin, straight type, with fluted lapis and gold head (Type V) [D] (4) Lapis and silver double conoid beads (for order see field notes)
12362D 30-12-575 (none) (none) Group [A.1-.2] (1) Large gold lunate earrings. [B.1-.2] (2) One large gold flower. [C] (3) Silver pin, straight type, with fluted lapis and gold head (Type V) [D] (4) Lapis and silver double conoid beads (for order see field notes)
12363A.1 (none) (none) (none) Group. Comprising. [A.1-.2] Pair of silver wire spiral coil earrings. [B] String of lapis double coinoid beads and 2 carnelian. [C] Copper pin type IVA (broken).

Related Terms

Copper Alloy - Electrum - Gold - Iron - Lead