Pit W

General

Context Title:	Pit W
Context Name (Publication):	Pit W
Context Name (Excavation):	Pit W
Context Description:	Pit W was excavated from the bottom of area PG near Pits Y and Z in order to more fully explore the Seal Impression Strata discovered running across the cemetery. Since these strata contained so many early seals and tablets it was clear that they were essential for dating the graves and for learning more about the administration of the city of Ur. In order to observe the strata more clearly, Pit W was much larger than most exploratory pits in the cemetery region, laid out to be 15x7 meters. It was dug from the northeast side of PG/1631 but its horizontal extents were not mapped and Benati (2015) believes that PG/1631 was mistaken for PG/1648, placing Pit W somewhat farther SE. Its published stratigraphic profile shows that PG/1631 (possibly 1648) was actually somewhere near the middle of the long side of the trench and Woolley states that Pit W was placed so as to virtually fill the gap between Pits Y and Z, but was set a few meters northeast of them. This allows for a relatively accurate placement of the pit. Pit W quickly ran through the seal impression strata but Woolley continued it down much farther, as he had with Pits Y and Z, to reach about a meter below sea level. He thus uncovered many graves earlier than the main Royal Cemetery, and because he believed them to be from the Jemdet Nasr period, he began JNG numbers for them. This discovery, combined with early graves in Pit Y, spawned the conception of a Jemdet Nasr cemetery running beneath and south of the Royal Cemetery, and in season 12 Woolley would seek to expose it in Pit X.

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General

Objects: Pit W Export: JSON - XML - CSV

U Number	Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number)	Museum Number (BM Registration Number)	Museum Number (UPM B-number)	Description (Catalog Card)
18671	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. [Type] 12. [drawing]
18429	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. [drawing]
18657	(none)	(none)	(none)	Limestone bowl. The base broken in antiquity and mended with bitumen. Sides slightl convex.
18645	(none)	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. One side decayed away. One side slightly concave.
18556	(none)	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. Much distorted. The sides are turned inwards at the base to secure the bottom, which seems to be a separatedisk of the metal. In section, thus: [reference to drawing]? Proper to Vol. IV. [drawing]
18646	(none)	1933,1013.62	(none)	Lead tumbler. Distroed and one side decayed. Not in catalog.
18647	33-35-97	(none)	(none)	Lead tumbler. Distorted. [The following note is an addition to original text] Not in cat. Vol IV.
18463	(none)	1933,1013.82	(none)	Cylinder seal. Bright dark red stone (jasper?). Approved with 2 animals and a bird in procession.
18504	(none)	(none)	(none)	Cup. Basic diorite. [Type] 30. [drawing 2:5]
18570	(none)	(none)	(none)	Copper pin. With small ball head. [drawing]
18461	33-35-79	(none)	(none)	Copper pin. With decorated head thus: [reference to drawing] [drawing]
18426	(none)	(none)	(none)	Copper pin.
18608	33-35-4	(none)	(none)	Clay vase, painted. Light drab surface whereon a design in light red paint. Type JN.sj.5 Much broken.
18605	(none)	1933,1013.246	(none)	Clay vase, painted. Characteristic Jemdet Nast 3 color design. Type new JN.32.
18606	(none)	1933,1013.249a	(none)	Clay vase, painted with red wash, burnished. Type JN.j.12. Very badly smashed.
18626	33-35-5	(none)	(none)	Clay vase, decorated. Drab clay. Round the shoulder, a band of incised charm pattern. Type JN.j.12. Not in catalog.
18714	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay pot. Type JNG j12. Decorated with vertical stripes of reserved slip.
18623	33-35-3	(none)	(none)	Clay pot. Painted. With red design on the light drab clay. Type JN.sj.8 but with 2 spouts side by side.
18609	33-35-6	(none)	(none)	Clay pot, painted. Red design on light pink surface. Much broken. Type JN.j.16.
18722	(none)	1933,1013.244	(none)	Clay pot, painted. Drab clay with design in red on the shoulder. Type JN sj.8 but with 2 spouts side by side. [Note on back card reads Beads missing. JNG 15 - lozenge shaped carnelian.]
18625	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay pot decorated. Drab clay. On the body, decoration of vertical stripes of reserved slip. Much broken. Type JN sj.8. Not in catalog.
18424	(none)	1933,1013.231	(none)	Clay owl's head. Baked clay. Hand-modelled with spike below for attachment.
18370	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay object. Baked clay with incised design. [drawing 1:1]
18490	33-35-465	(none)	(none)	Clay jar sealing (fragment) with impression of seal apparently in script (black) [drawing]
18713	(none)	(none)	(none)	Clay jar painted. Fragments of a large jar painted black design on greenish-drab: type al Obaid type.