Excavations at Ur, 1929-30

Abstract

The eighth season of the Joint Expedition of the British Museum and of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania started at Ur on 1st November 1929, and ended on 19th March 1930. The staff consisted of my wife, who as usual was responsible for the type-drawings of objects, the planning of the cemetery, and for a share in the field-work; Mr. M. E. L. Mallowan, general archaeological assistant; the Rev.E. Burrows, S.J., epigraphist; and Mr. A. S. Whitburn, architect. Hamoudi was, as always, head foreman, with his sons, Yahia, Ibrahim, and Alawi acting under him; owing to the fact that work was always going on in at least two spots fairly far apart, greater responsibility than usual was thrown on the younger foremen, who answered admirably to the demands on them; Yahia combined this work with that of staff photographer. The number of men employed varied slightly at different times, but was always over 200 and for most of the season kept at about 240, anumber well in excess of the average of past seasons; the amount of work done wascorrespondingly great. I have to thank the Royal Air Force in Iraq for help of many sorts and not least for an air photograph of the site (pl. XXVIII) taken at the close of the season and of much value for purposes of comparison with earlier photographs; Lt.-Colonel Tainsh, Director of the Iraq Railways, for facilities enabling me to undertake a short experimental dig at Meraijib, a prehistoric site some ten miles south of Ur; and the Director of Antiquities, Iraq, for his help in this Meraijib work and to the Expedition in general. I must also acknowledge my indebtedness to the staff of the British Museum Laboratory, where the work of restoring and cleaning was as usual carried out, and in particular to Mr. E. C. Padgham for his success with the silver objects; Mr. Evan Watkin of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities undertook the mending of the stone vases, and for the mending of the pottery the services of Mrs. F. W. Bard were secured.

The Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period at Ur

“…As correctly noted by Woolley (1930: 331), the scene on U.14505, a spread-winged eagle grabbing a bovid with its talons (Fig. 7: no.…”

“…Lastly, the reddish painted fragments described by Woolley (1956: 62–63; 1930: 331) as fairly common towards the bottom of the stratum, might match the red painted (and perhaps scarlet ware) vessels considered by Delougaz (1952: 135–37) as common features of both the Jemdet Nasr and ED I periods, and with the plum-slip ware commonly attested in JN–Early ED I levels at Nippur (In'anak XV–XIV, XII; cf. Wilson 1986: 62) 23…”

“…In Squares D–E4 two superimposed beaten clay pavements were excavated at 10.50 m (L.6) and at 9.9 m (L.41). L.41 yielded pottery and stone fragments (Woolley 1930: 331; Woolley 1956: 62) 7 . In the excavators' opinion the ceramic fragments were part of a potter's wheel 8 .…”

“…Furthermore, the 1929–1930 campaign report makes it clear that solid-footed goblets (hereafter sfg) were concentrated in the layer between 10.8 and 9.7 m (cf. also Sürenhagen 1999: 202–4), in particular at 10.3 m, “the broken examples numbering hundreds” (Woolley 1930: 331). Probably sfg were also amongst the pottery finds from 9.8 m in L.4 (F.44), L.24 (F.50) and L.25, and perhaps L.6.…”

“…During the 1929–1930 campaign a large scale sounding, Trial Trench F (Pit F), was planned with the aim of investigating an area located in the south-eastern portion of the sacred precinct. The area, a rectangle of 25.0 × 16.0 m, seemed promising due to the presence of architectural remains on the surface (Woolley 1930: 330). In this pit the excavators identified eight superimposed architectural phases, under which there were several metres of pottery kiln debris ( Kiln Strata ), water-laid sand, and at the bottom of the pit occupation levels dated to the Ubaid period.…”