Pit F
| Context Title: | Pit F |
| Context Name (Publication): | Flood Pit; Pit F |
| Context Name (Excavation): | PFT; Pit F |
| Context Description: | Pit F stands apart from the Royal Cemetery pits dug in the preceding year, despite its letter 'F' falling inside the sequence of those pits. The sequence of pit letters was assigned after most had been dug, probably in season 8 as confusion arose over pits I and J. Pit F was originally called PFT to distinguish it from pits in the Royal Cemetery area. The suffix T probably stood for Temenos to show that Pit F was dug in the area inside the early temenos wall. The abbreviation became confusing and Legrain reports PF as 'Flood Pit' and PFT as 'Shaft in town area,' but the two designations are actually identical. The term 'Flood Pit' was often used to refer to Pit F because of the deep layers of silt found near its deepest extent. As much as 3 meters thickness of fine water-lain soil was encountered here, evidence of a great flood. In his books and talks for the general public, Woolley often made the equation of this flood with the biblical flood, but in his academic discussions he never did. Instead, here he referred to the frequent flooding of the Euphrates and how this particular flood must have been large and may have spawned Sumerian legends. Pit F was extremely large and extremely deep. Woolley's intent was to reach the earliest occupation of the site. He chose an already low-lying zone neighboring the excavation area EH and laid out a trench 15x25 meters, though in the southern half he only dug 10 meters width, making the final pit L shaped. He truncated the horizontal extent further as he dug down to avoid collapse and he eventually reached a depth of some 19 meters from the surface of the mound. The top of the pit had already been denuded to the Early Dynastic levels and thus late material was typically not found here. From the surface, Woolley found eight levels of early building remains going deeper and deeper. Beneath this he found pottery kilns and a deep layer of over-fired pottery fragments indicating manufacture. Near the bottom of this stratum he began finding Uruk period graves (that he called Jemdat Nasr period graves). He labeled these not with numbers, but with letters in the sequence PFG/A through PFG/XX. Below this he encountered the flood layer with Ubaid period graves cut into it. Beneath the flood layer he found evidence of Ubaid habitation near sea level and what he believed to be indications of the early marshlands in which Ur had originally been a very low mound. |
Files
| Object | U Number | Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number) | Museum Number (BM Registration Number) | Museum Number (UPM B-number) | Description (Catalog Card) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 14974 | (none) | 1930,1213.238 | (none) | Mace head. Pear-shaped. Very dark green pebble. Rather roughly cut but will polished type of Egyptian 2nd pre-dynastic. |
| 14977 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay disk. With large hole towards one edge. Of the sort sometimes called thumb-guards (but the hole here is too small for the thumb). [drawing 1:1] |
| 14978 | (none) | 1930,1213.576 | (none) | Clay vase. miniature spouted. of very light drab clay. Type CCCXXXIII = JN118 new. Not in cat. Vol. IV | |
| 14979 | (none) | 1930,1213.333 | (none) | Clay figurine. Sheep. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 14980 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Copper spearhead. [drawing 1:1] |
| 14981 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Seal impression. On baked clay. |
| 14982 | (none) | 1930,1213.383 | (none) | Clay object. Use uncertain. Flat clay (baked). [drawing] | |
| 14990 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Stone axe-head. Polished black stone. |
| 14993 | (none) | 1930,1213.351 | (none) | Clay model of axe.(broken) [drawing] | |
| 14995 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay figurine. Humped bullock. Green clay with black paint. Both horns and one back leg missing. [drawing] |
| 14996 | (none) | 1935,0113.61 | (none) | Clay figurine. Fragment of (forepart only) of a bull(?). Drab clay with black markings. | |
| 14997A | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pots. Small "cornets" A. Drab Clay [Drawing] B. red clay, no rim, base broken ? recalling the stone 'cornets' of Susa Not in cat. vol IV |
| 15021 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Seal impression. Animals. |
| 15022 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Seal impression. Jar. Fragmentary. Animal figures? |
| 15143 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Baked clay vase. Light drab. Type: CCCXXVIII. New JN49. Not in catalog. |
| 15323 | (none) | 1930,1213.138 | (none) | Stamp seal. Black steatite. Square, with oval handle laterally pierced. Much worn: on the face a design. [drawing] |
| 15325 | (none) | 1935,0113.63 | (none) | Clay figurine. A pig(?) Crudely modeled by hand. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 15328 | (none) | 1935,0113.64 | (none) | Clay object. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 15329 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Miniature clay nails. Resembling those of obsidian. One has the shaft pierced near the point. |
| 15331 | (none) | 1930,1213.175 | (none) | Clay figurine. Torso only: in reddish clay with black paint markings. Nude female. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 15333 | (none) | 1930,1213.168 | (none) | Stone. arrowhead. Chalcedony(?) [drawing 1:1] |
| 15334 | (none) | 1935,0113.65 | (none) | Figurine. Dried clay. Human figure. Head missing. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 15335 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay cup TO-ware. Light drab with black bands. Virtually complete. Type CCCXLV. [drawing] |
| 15336 | (none) | 1930,0012.13, 1930,1213.292 | (none) | Clay cup. Drab clay. Type CCCXLVI. | |
| 15337 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay cup. Drab clay (broken) Type CCCXLVI. |
| Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods | Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods | 1955 | Woolley, L. | (none) |
| UPM Field Photo numbers | UPM Field Photo numbers | (none) | (none) | (none) |
- 2 Media
Sibling Locations
AH Site | AH - City Wall | CLW - DP - Dublalmah | LL - EH Site | EH - Ehursag | HT - EM Site | EM - Enunmah | TTB | ES - ESB - FH - Giparu | KP - Great Nanna Courtyard | PD - Harbor Temple - House 34/1 - House 34/2 - House Site - Kassite Fort - KPS Site | KPS - LT - LW - Mausoleum Site | BC - Neo-Babylonian Housing | NH - NNCF - NTB - P/103 - Palace of Bel-Shalti-Nannar | AD - Royal Cemetery | PG - SM - Temenos Wall | TW - TTC - XNCF - Ziggurat Terrace | ZT
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Context
Ur > Pit F
References
Woolley, L. . (1955) Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.