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)
7632 (none) 1928,1009.54 (none) Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Rampant lion followed by 2 rampant rams? Between the rams a standing figure, and behind the lion a palm tree.
7630 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Blue steatite. Two registers. Top: 7 figures clothed in short tunics reaching only to the knees approaching standing deity. All wear feathered? headdress. Bottom: male figure running, pursued? by animals amongst which are cows??
7628 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Font from which rises a palm? On either side a snake? and beyond a hero attacking rampant lion with a sword. Possibly the curved markings at the side of the altar may represent not snakes but handles or running water? [drawing] cf. U.7640
7610 (none) (none) (none) Bangle. Bronze? One end missing. [drawing 1:1]
7598 (none) (none) (none) Rattle in form of terracotta pig. Part of head and 2 legs missing. Incised line down back and incised parallel curves down sides to indicate hair? [drawing 1:1]
7594 (none) 1928,1009.145 (none) Amulet. Ram's head. Shell. White. [drawing 1:1]
7586 (none) (none) (none) Duck weight Diorite. Blue grey. Bottom chipped. Type VI.
7573 (none) (none) (none) Necklace. 48 frit beads and frog amulet in frit. Lentoids, ring beads, conoids, ball and bangle beads. Arbitrarily strung. IIIrd Dyn of Ur.
7563 (none) (none) (none) Amulet. Frog. Frit. [faint drawing]
7558 (none) 1928,1009.144 (none) Amulet. Ram's head. Shell. White. [drawing 1:1]
7555 (none) (none) (none) Terracotta figurine. Nude female. Head broken from body. [drawing 1:1]
7553 (none) 1928,1009.16 (none) Cylinder seal. Frit. Grey. Stag, 2 stars, upright pole? Spear sticking vertically in ground. Persian.
7549 (none) (none) (none) Terracotta figurine. Fragmentary below waist. Bearded god with thick protruding nose, wearing high conical cap with a peak which has a triangular parting to it on the middle of the forehead. Against the breast, on either side of the beard the tops of long staves? Wide square shoulders. Two rounded plaits of hair one on either side of head fall just below cap. On either side of breast rosettes and below beard an inverted crescent moon. [drawing 1:1]
7542 (none) (none) (none) Terracotta head. Lower part of beard missing. Grotesque. Pellet eyes and sharp ridge to nose. Lower part of face incised. Thick bandeau round head. [drawing 1:1]
7538 (none) (none) (none) Terracotta plaque. Goddess seated on throne with concave seat and no back. Full face down to waist except for arms. Legs in profile. High horned headdress, hair falls down on either side of shoulders and ends in a large curl. High flounced kaunakes dress with long and wide sleeves. Left forearm exposed to show bangle. cf. U. _
7537 (none) 1928,1009.465 (none) Terracotta plaque. Fragmentary and in poor condition. 2 gods in profile facing one another. God bearded and wearing high headdress, supports an axe? with a curved handle, head of axe resting on left shoulder left forearm parallel with ground. God has a very pronounced Jewish nose. Upper part of goddess fragmentary, both wear flounced kaunakes skirt, left shoulders bare. [drawing 1:1]
72 (none) (none) B15192 Clay mask. The eyes are pierced right through and filled with paste, originally blue: there is a hole at the top for suspension. [drawing 1:1] [Annotated] Phil
7140 (none) (none) (none) Terracotta plaque. Fragment. Warriors on either side of doorway of shrine. Lances standing upright from the ground: above crescent moon, geese and fish. [drawing 1:1]
7134 (none) (none) B16431 Adze head. Bronze. Cf. U.6137 Larsa type. E.
7129 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Black steatite. 2 registers. Spread eagle, vase with palm branch and worshippers on either side. Before 3000 BC. E.
7128 (none) 1927,0527.187 (none) Cylinder seal. White shell. Fragment. 2 crossed ibex? Attacked by rampant lion and on the other side by Gilgamesh. Before 3000 BC. E.
7127 (none) (none) B16295 Cylinder seal. White shell. Winged gate over crouching bull on right, a seated goddess on left, and kneeling Gilgamesh both holding gate with ropes. Before 3000 BC? E.
7126 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Crystal. Grey. Linear markings. B.
7125 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. White shell. 2 registers. Procession of figs towards seated goddess. Below. 2 crossed animals. On either side a lion. B. Before 3000 BC.
7122 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Steatite. Black. 2 worshippers and palm branch rising out of vase. Inscribed. 2300 BC. B.

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