Context Title: Diqdiqqeh | DQ     
Context Name (Publication): Diqdiqqeh     
Context Name (Excavation): Digdiggah; DQ     
Context Name (Excavation): Railway site     
Context Description: Essentially a suburb of the ancient city, this area is located about 2 km to the northeast of the ziggurat of Ur. The precise extents of Diqdiqqeh were never defined, but Woolley referred to it as the low ground between the main railway line and the branch that went to Nasiriyeh. The train lines no longer run in the same place they did in Woolley's day, but Corona images allow us to recreate their paths. This makes the general boundaries west, south, and east somewhat known but how far it stretched north is not completely clear. From the first season workers walking across this area picked up surface finds and brought them to Woolley. At that time the location did not have a fixed name in Woolley's mind and thus first season references sometimes say 'near the railway' or 'near Munshid's water engine.' In the second season Woolley decided to investigate more systematically, but after two days of excavation he decided there was not enough remaining architecture to reward further work. Instead, he continued to allow the workers to gather finds over the next ten seasons, and many later catalog cards state "brought in: Diqdiqqeh" The finds from Diqdiqqeh indicate that the ancient suburb played a role in manufacturing and perhaps in commerce. Canals seem to have met in the area and boats may have unloaded goods here. Many figurines, tools, moulds and other crafting items are among the finds, suggesting that Diqdiqqeh may have been an industrial area away from the main habitation. The so-called Treasury of Sin-Iddinam was also excavated in this general area in season 5. In the Antiquaries Journal of January 1925, Woolley described Diqdiqqeh as follows: “A mile and a half NE. of the ziggurat, between the main railway line and the Nasiriyah branch, there is a patch of low-lying ground, occasionally cultivated, which the natives call Diqdiqqeh... a happy hunting-ground for treasure-seekers, and I took advantage of this fact to collect from the natives the scattered antiquities which they might bring to light.”     
Season Number: 01: 1922-1923      

Objects: Diqdiqqeh | DQ 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)
16438M (none) 1931,1010.455 (none) Terracotta Figurines: Female figure, nude, Type III, c.x. (as 1); (A) Fragment from hips up; (B) Complete, standing on base, much damaged by salt; (C) Fragment head and feet missing.; (D) Fragment head missing; (E) Fragment head and legs below knees missing; (F) Fragment from hads upwards (1371); (G)Broken away above ankles: most resembles No. 3 (1371) (H) complete down to knees (no more moulded than this); (J) Damaged & missing below hands, face rubbed, poor; (K) Complete: fair condition. (L) Fragment: the left arm and the body below the hands missing. (M) Complete, from miniature mould, poor impression.
17128A (none) 1931,1010.454 (none) Terracotta relief of standing god and goddess wearing long dresses with pleated flounces: each with an arm about the other. Full face. Like U. 17127 but from a different mould. (A) Complete.
16438B (none) 1931,1010.453 (none) Terracotta Figurines: Female figure, nude, Type III, c.x. (as 1); (A) Fragment from hips up; (B) Complete, standing on base, much damaged by salt; (C) Fragment head and feet missing.; (D) Fragment head missing; (E) Fragment head and legs below knees missing; (F) Fragment from hands upwards (1371); (G)Broken away above ankles: most resembles No. 3 (1371) (H) complete down to knees (no more moulded than this); (J) Damaged & missing below hands, face rubbed, poor; (K) Complete: fair condition. (L) Fragment: the left arm and the body below the hands missing. (M) Complete, from miniature mould, poor impression.
16493 (none) 1931,1010.452 (none) Terracotta relief. Bearded man draped, carrying a kid. (A) complete. Moderate impression. [drawing 1:1]
17124 (none) 1931,1010.451 (none) Terracotta relief. Two seated goddesses (?) or women, one large and holding a pot to her breast: she wears a large garment with pleasted flounces and is bare-headed: the other beside her is similar but much small. (A) Complete but much worn. (B) [No description] Type Ib.D.
16498F (none) 1931,1010.450 (none) Terracotta relief. Nude woman suckling an infant. Good modelling, high relief. [drawing 1:1] (A) Broken away from waist (as drawn) (B) Broken away at hips and face smashed; from a similar but slightly smaller mould; (C) Head and legs below knees missing: perhaps from a different mould but very similar. (D) Head and feet missing; poor impression, not from the same mould as last, but perhaps identical with (A); (E) Missing from waist downward: (smaller mould); (F) Fragment broken away at hips, poor specimen; (G) Fragment head and legs below knees missing; (H) Complete, good impression, probably from different mould.
16751 (none) 1931,1010.45 (none) Cylinder seal. Mottled marble. Unpierced.
16488 (none) 1931,1010.448 (none) Terracotta figurine. Nude female. Unusually large. Freely modeled in good style. (A) Fragment only from navel to knees.
16458A (none) 1931,1010.446 (none) Terracotta Figurine. Seated goddess: Type VI,5. (A) Complete; (B) Complete, worn.
16473 (none) 1931,1010.445 (none) Terracotta Figurine. Female figure. (A) Broken away at thighs, a good impression. [drawing]
17104A (none) 1931,1010.444 (none) Terracotta figurine made from a two-piece mould, front and back = the two have not met and the result is two relifs separated by rough clay. Female figure, standing with right hand to breast and left arm at side. (A) Complete down to knees but left side of face chipped off. Back view is curiously [illegible, looks like chinese or chenise or chevise]. [drawing 1:1]
16939F (none) 1931,1010.443 (none) Terracotta relief of nude female with hands below breasts. (A) Complete. (B) Broken but complete except for feet; (C) Broken away at knees, poor cast. (D) Broken away at knees, poor cast; (E) Complete, the legs cut apart after moulding (F) Complete; (G) Mould taken only to navel and the cast then rounded off (probably same mould poor); (H) Complete (as above). All the above are of very lightly fired clay, red or yellowish grey, and form a group distinct from nearly all the other terracottas. They might be modern casts from an ancient mould. Type III c.Y
16439C (none) 1931,1010.441 (none) Terracotta Figurine: nude female, Type III, c.a. (A) Complete, but the mould only taken to the knees, when the clay is rounded off. (B) Complete, the mould taken to the feet; (C) Complete down to the knees; (D) Complete, the mould taken to the ankles; (E) Complete, poor impression; (F) Fragment broken away at hips.
16436F (none) 1931,1010.439 (none) Terracotta figurines. Tambourine player: Type IIIa. A sub-species (1): (A) Fragment preserved from hips upwards: (B) Fragment from waist upwards; (C) fragment from knees up; from a different mould, the head being smaller; (D) fragment rom thighs up: similar to last; (E) fragment from waist up: similar to last, a much worn example; (F) fragment from waist up: sub-species 2; (G) fragment head & feet missing; (H) fragment head & legs missing; (J) fragment broken off at waist, fair impression; (K) fragment broken off at thighs, poor condition (sub-species 1344?) or type III, cf. ; (L) fragment broken away at knees; fair impression; (M) Complete except for feet, but the face damaged & chip off tambourine; (N) Fragment from waist up, poor ; (O) Similar type but from a much smaller mould; broken away at hips; (P) Fragment from waist upwards, good impression; (Q) Fragment from hips upwards, poor and badly encrusted with salt.
16946B (none) 1931,1010.436 (none) Terracotta relief. Grotesque nude male figure. (A) Fragment from waist downwards. (B) Similar (penis removed); (C) complete example in fine condition. (D) Fragment from waist downwards. [drawing A 1:1]
17181 (none) 1931,1010.435 (none) Terracotta relief of female figure wearing kaukenes or flounced skirt, hands clasped below breast. (A) Much worn impression broken away at knees.
16479 (none) 1931,1010.434 (none) Terracotta relief. 2 bearded Gods facing each other and carrying the litmus. Type I,b.A. (A) Fragment from waist upwards, in poor condition.
16494A (none) 1931,1010.433 (none) Terracotta relief. Seated female figure draped, with hand to breast. Head very large and grotesque. Lightly baked red clay. [drawing 1:1] (A) complete, weak and flat impression. (B) Complete, week and flat impression, it is repeated on the back of the clay from the same mould. (C) Head missing, poor, on reverse a very faint impression from the same mould; (D) Complete, poor, narrow frame; (E) Complete, poor, narrow frame.
17134A (none) 1931,1010.432 (none) Terracotta relief. Two bull-legged demons facing each other and holding upright staffs like palm logs. (A) Fragment = head missing. [drawing 1:1]
16436M (none) 1931,1010.429 (none) Terracotta figurines. Tambourine player: Type IIIa. A sub-species (1): (A) Fragment preserved from hips upwards: (B) Fragment from waist upwards; (C) fragment from knees up; from a different mould, the head being smaller; (D) fragment rom thighs up: similar to last; (E) fragment from waist up: similar to last, a much worn example; (F) fragment from waist up: sub-species 2; (G) fragment head & feet missing; (H) fragment head & legs missing; (J) fragment broken off at waist, fair impression; (K) fragment broken off at thighs, poor condition (sub-species 1344?) or type III, cf. ; (L) fragment broken away at knees; fair impression; (M) Complete except for feet, but the face damaged & chip off tambourine; (N) Fragment from waist up, poor ; (O) Similar type but from a much smaller mould; broken away at hips; (P) Fragment from waist upwards, good impression; (Q) Fragment from hips upwards, poor and badly encrusted with salt.
16442D (none) 1931,1010.427 (none) Terracotta Figurines. Moulded. Female figure, nude. Type III,e.1. (A) Broken away at knees and in bad condition; (B) Broken away at knees; (C) complete, same figure but from a different mould. Face rubbed all away. (D) Broken away at knees; (E) Feet missing, poor and damaged impression; (F) Head and legs below knees missing.
16938 (none) 1931,1010.426 (none) Terracotta relief. Back of bedstead. Horned bull-footed demon grasping a crescent-topped staff, beyond this, a gryphon(?) and a monkey(?). (A) Complete but poor cast. [drawing 1:1]
16449H (none) 1931,1010.425 (none) Terracotta relief. Man with flail(?): Type XI,B.4. (A) broken away at waist; (B) complete, but the figure moulded only to just below the knees; (C) broken away at knees. The eye has been added with a pellet of clay; (D) complete, behind the full length figure of the man (who is draped) is a squatting monkey; (E) Complete as moulded, but impressed only to the mans knees, head of monkey shown behind; (F) Head missing, exactly similar, but from a smaller mould; monkey rather different; (G) Fragment missing below mans knees (legs never mould); (H) Similar, the legs below the knees not moulded.
16109B (none) 1931,1010.424 (none) Terracotta Relief. Nude woman with hands clasped over breast, hair-in close- set parallel waves. Good modelling. Type III c.z. (A) Fragment broken away at hips: good impression; (B) Fragment broken away at hips good impression; (C) Fragment almost identical but from a slightly larger mould, fragment broken off at waist.
17163 (none) 1931,1010.423 (none) Terracotta relief of goddess seated right on 2 geese. (A) Fragment only. From waist downward = good. [drawing]

Media: Diqdiqqeh | DQ Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Media Media Title Title Label Author Omeka Label
Ur Excavations VII; The Old Babylonian Period Ur Excavations VII; The Old Babylonian Period 1976 Woolley, L. and M. Mallowan (none)
  • 1 Media