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)
16436L 31-43-400 (none) (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.
17325 31-43-40 (none) (none) Cylinder seal. Steatite. Grey. One roughly cut human figure and second carrying an animal (?) two spears? [second carrying an animal has been crossed out on catalog card]
18066A 31-43-398 (none) (none) Terracotta figurine. Female figure standing full face, hands clasped, pleated and flounced dress, hair elaborately waved. (A) Fragment from middle thighs upwards. (B) Complete (poor example).
16942 31-43-397 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Draped female figure standing with hands clasped below breasts plain chiton. (A) Broken away above ankles; poor cast and face all gone. [drawing]
16491A 31-43-396 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Draped female figure standing with hands to breast. Good design, well modeled. (A) complete, good condition. [drawing 1:1]
16936 31-43-395 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Draped female figure, standing, with hands to breasts: elaborate coiffure but no head ornaments. (A) complete and in good condition. [drawing 1:1]
16998 31-43-393 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Miniature. Nude female figure with hands clasped below breasts. (A) Complete. Type IIIC.J.
16438L 31-43-392 (none) (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.
16438K 31-43-390 (none) (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.
16438C 31-43-388 (none) (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.
16953A 31-43-387 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Nude female figure. With hands clasped below breasts; lines of dots on background. (A) Complete, but in very bad condition, and hidden by salt.
16939A 31-43-386 (none) (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
16992 31-43-385 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Nude female figure with hands clasped below breasts. Red clay : good modelling, broken away above knees. Photo _
16912 31-43-384 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Nude female figure, hands apparently by sides. (A) Broken off above waist. [drawing 1:1]
16902A 31-43-383 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Nude female with hands to breasts. High relief. [drawing 1:1] (A) Broken away at knees; good condition; (B) Fragment head an feet missing.
16481B 31-43-382 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Woman's head with disk(?) below. (A) Flat and much worn. Very coarse modeling and face peculiar perhaps Kassite?; (B) Very poor impression and complete. (C) Complete. [drawing 1:1]
17161 31-43-379 (none) (none) Terracotta relief. Nude female figure with hands clasped below breasts. Peculiarly coarse and violent type. (A) Fragment broken away at waist. [drawing 1:1]
16914 31-43-377 (none) (none) Terracotta Mould. For making a figurine or relief of nude female with hands clasped below breasts: small grotesque head, heavy necklace: rather like Type III, c.H.
16439A 31-43-376 (none) (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.
16453A 31-43-375 (none) (none) Terracotta Figurines. Nude female: Type III, C.H. (A) Fragment broken away at the waist; (B) Fragment broken away at hips.
16996 31-43-371 (none) (none) Terracotta figurine, fragment of female figure from chest to feet. Very primitive style. cf. Type IIIb. Flat and board-like. [drawing 1:1]
16952 31-43-370 (none) (none) Terracotta figurine. Hand-modeled. With elaborate headdress, perhaps based on the Egyptian. [drawing 1:1]
17002 31-43-364 (none) (none) Model comb. Glazed frit. One end missing. Holder decorated with
17186 31-43-353 (none) (none) Clay ram's head. Hand modelled, the fleece done in applique (snowman technique). [drawing]
1114 31-43-350 (none) (none) Clay figurine. modelled : drab clay [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