Pit F

General

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

General

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Objects: Pit F Export: JSON - XML - CSV

U Number	Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number)	Museum Number (BM Registration Number)	Museum Number (UPM B-number)	Description (Catalog Card)
(none)	31-17-404	(none)	(none)	[U number not assigned in field]
14480B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[B-F] Beads (5) clay. Imitation of those cut from shell cores with the spiral shewn. (NB, these seem to have been made on a string, not made & then pierced).
14451C	31-16-347	(none)	(none)	[B-C] Brick. Jus. (gypsum burnt & slaked) rectangular, flat on top, made in a wooden mould set on a piece of matting, the impression of which remains on the underside of the brick. Though different in size it is identical in technique & fabric with those at Muraijib (14452-3)
14451B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[B-C] Brick. Jus. (gypsum burnt & slaked) rectangular, flat on top, made in a wooden mould set on a piece of matting, the impression of which remains on the underside of the brick. Though different in size it is identical in technique & fabric with those at Muraijib (14452-3)
14487A	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A-B] Two rubbing stones. Lava (pumice?). Mounted in bitumen for holding. Not in catalog.
14487B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A-B] Two rubbing stones. Lava (pumice?). Mounted in bitumen for holding. Not in catalog.
13645A	(none)	1948,0423.433	(none)	[A-B] 2 seal impressions. Presentation scene. Inscribed: Ur-Dungi-sa dub-sar arad dNannar . HC.205. (UET/III:1802)
13645B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A-B] 2 seal impressions. Presentation scene. Inscribed: Ur-Dungi-sa dub-sar arad dNannar . HC.205. (UET/III:1802)
14927A	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A and B] 2 clay objects. Use uncertain. [drawing 1:2]
14927B	(none)	(none)	(none)	[A and B] 2 clay objects. Use uncertain. [drawing 1:2]
13702	(none)	(none)	(none)	Whetstone. Grey stone. Section square with bevelled edges; slightly thickened at centre; piered at one end.
13723	31-16-505	(none)	(none)	Weight of grey stone. Lentoid, with flattened base. [drawing 1:1] Type II
(none)	31-17-378	(none)	(none)	unknown
14921A	(none)	(none)	(none)	Two rings of clay [A and B]. One green, one drab. Use uncertain. Found together cf. U.14496. Not in catalog.
14921B	(none)	1930,1213.293	(none)	Two rings of clay [A and B]. One green, one drab. Use uncertain. Found together cf. U.14496. Not in catalog.
14966	(none)	1930,1213.301	(none)	Trough drain. Greensih clay (section). Loose in soil by the pottery kiln. Not in catalog. [drawing]
15385	31-16-733	(none)	(none)	Terracotta figurine. A nude female standing, with the hands resting on the waist. The high head is covered with bitumen to represent hair (this preserved).
13662	(none)	1948,0423.370	(none)	Tablet. Dungi 45 clothing stuff??? and sheep ?? from Adab. HC.506.
13627	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Account of 8 nig-KU (the items come to 8 1/6) HC.503.
13699	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Ur III Dyn. Business note; fragmentary. HC.508
13648	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. round. Sargnic or rather presargoni. Note about barley (the sign sag in case 1, presargonic, cf. T.Dangin, Rec. (4), ii,4) cf. 14131; HC.404.
13683	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Round tablet, silver by weight and bronze archaic, perhaps rather later that archaic. Collection from 1928/29 HC.400.
13631	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Round school excercise.
13844	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Round Archaic accounts. HC.401 Stratum B.
13625	(none)	(none)	(none)	Tablet. Receipt of clothes. HC.501.

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Media: Pit F 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)
	UPM Field Photo numbers	UPM Field Photo numbers	(none)	(none)	(none)