Pit X

Context Title: Pit X1     
Context Name (Excavation): Pit X     
Context Name (Publication): Pit X     
Context Description: Pit X was excavated as a large southern extension of the Royal Cemetery area, likely originally conceived as an extension of Pit Y (Pit J) at the southwest corner. Its main purpose was to uncover the earliest burials in the area, the so-called Jemdat Nasr cemetery first encountered in pits Y and Z. Pit X measured approximately 30x15 meters, though it may originally have been laid out to be 35x20. Woolley reports it as a rectangle covering 1000 square meters, but even the largest indication on the plan map and satellite images is at most 700 square meters and not truly rectangular. Nevertheless, it is a very large space that reached sea level some 20 meters below the surface of the mound. In the Antiquaries Journal for 1934 Woolley reports a total of 13,160 cubic meters of dirt having been removed from this pit. Some minor building remains of the Neo-Babylonian and Kassite periods were found near the surface but most of the area was apparently used as a dumping ground in the Late Bronze Age and later. Woolley knew that the Royal Cemetery area extended to the south of his main area PG but believed he would find few graves of the Akkadian and EDIII period. He discovered more than he expected, but none were overly rich in finds. These graves did not receive PG numbers since the UE2 Royal Cemetery volume had already been published. Instead, they received PJ numbers. The series PJG applied to graves in Pit X Woolley felt to be Akkadian or later and PJB applied to those of the EDIII period. The break between these two sequences came at around 10 meters above sea level. In all, Pit X added some 250 to the more than 1000 burials of these periods that Woolley had already uncovered in area PG. Beneath the graves of the Royal Cemetery (starting at around 6 meters above sea level) Woolley reached the earlier graves of what he called the Jemdat Nasr cemetery. Graves at this depth were given JNG numbers. In fact, JNG eventually applied to all of the early graves discovered in pits W, X, Y, and Z. Some of those excavated in Y and Z had received PG numbers but they were renumbered for publication in the JNG sequence. Most of these graves actually date to the Early Dynastic I period. The area near the base of the pit was smaller than that at the top. Only around 400 square meters was exposed near sea level, yet more than 200 early graves were discovered. Although Ubaid period pottery fragments were found, only two Ubaid burials were discovered here. The large area excavation stopped at 2 meters above sea level, but a test pit at the bottom reached down to sea level itself.     
[1] Imported from BM list of contexts.

Objects: Pit X 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)
18918 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Brown steatite. Carinated type./ A hero bestriding a bull; a star; a second hero on one knee throws a lion over his shoulder. Two columns of inscriptions supported byb a goat: water below. Remarkably fine cutting.
18920 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Mottled steatite. God in a shrine of which each door is guarded by an attendant: two columns of inscription. Inscription uncertain (C.J.G.)
18921 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Grey steatite. Men fighting animals.
18926 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Two figures seated and drinking through tubes, and a standing attendant.
18928 (none) (none) (none) Stamp seal. Grey hematite. Square, with tubular handle. A seated figure to whom an attendant offers a spouted libation vase. Very curious cutting, especially in the faces.
18931A (none) (none) (none) [A and C] gold earrings, a pair small lunate type, solid. [B] Beads: carnelian rings and date-shaped, crystal date-shaped, 2 gold-plated copper balls, agate barrel, chalcedony date-shaped.
18932 (none) (none) (none) Beads: large steatite barrel, carnelian double conoids, date-shaped and balls; agate barrels and date-shaped; crystal date-shaped; carnelian tubular, long steatite, long date-shaped, engraved paste rings. Restrung in original order. [drawing]
18933 (none) (none) (none) Beads: lapis lazuli diamonds and cylinder and ring. (a few only)
18934 (none) (none) (none) Copper axe. Type S. 6.
18936 (none) (none) (none) Copper reticule.
18938 (none) (none) (none) Copper knife blade. Type 7a.
18939 (none) 1935,0112.23 (none) Copper knife blade. Type 3.
18940 (none) (none) (none) Copper knife blade. Type 7a.
18941 (none) (none) (none) Copper axe. blade. Type S. 13
18942A (none) (none) (none) [A] Beads. Carnelian tubular and rings; paste date-shaped, steatite fly and frog amulets; fluted balls. Arbitrarily restrung. [B] Also a silver bracelet, 3 coils of plain wire.
18943A (none) (none) (none) Group: (A) Gold earring, small lunate type. (B) Silver finger ring, plain wire hoop. (C) Silver hair ring, 2 coils of plain wire. (D) Gold twisted ribbon fillet, with hole at each end. (E) Beads: lapis diamonds and tubes, crystal rings, silver diamonds and balls and small blue glaze cylinders. (F) Copper pin, type 8. (G) Copper reticule.
18944 (none) (none) (none) Gold earrings, two lunate rings, small type, intertwined.
18945 (none) (none) (none) Stone bowl. White calcite. Broken and rivetted in antiquity, a small piece missing. Type 54.
18949 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Two seated figures and standing attendant; two columns of inscription. Inscription: Ur... (rest of name illegible in photograph) son of Ur-Nanna-pad-da. (C.J.G.)
18950A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Gold earrings, two, of small lunate type, one soild and one hollow, found interlaced.
18951 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Lapis lazuli. Two gazelles and small figures of two men in a boat. Very bad cratchy cutting.
18952 (none) (none) (none) Limestone bowl. Type 16b.
18953 (none) (none) (none) Beads; carnelian and lapis date-shaped (large), carnelian double conoid and barrel, and rings, and small lapis cylindrical; one agate date-shaped. Restrung in original order.
18954 (none) (none) (none) Beads; small ribbed gold balls; carnelian balls; one flat date-shaped paste.
18955 (none) (none) (none) Stone bowl. Basic diorite, chipped. Type 36.

Media: Pit X Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Media Media Title Title Label Author Omeka Label
Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods 1955 Woolley, L. (none)
  • 1 Media

Sibling Locations

Pit Y

Child Locations

Jemdat Nasr Graves - PJB - PJG

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Context

Ur > Royal Cemetery | PG > PJ > Pit X

References

Woolley, L. . (1955) Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.