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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14432 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Fragmentary, and parts missing of very light-colored drab clay. Type CCCXVI. =JN132 new. Not in catalog. | |
 | 15630 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Fragments. Plain, creamy drab slip over red body clay: apparently made on the slow wheel. Type CCCXXXVIII. |
| 14976 | 31-16-148 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Green-drab clay. Type CCCXXXII. Not in catalog. | |
| 14493 | 31-17-359 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Greenish clay. With round handles. Type CCCXX. Not in catalog. | |
| 14989 | 31-16-149 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Greensih drab clay. Type CCCXXXII. | |
| 14410 | (none) | 1935,0113.391 | (none) | Clay pot. Light red clay. Rather rough. Type CCCX. | |
| 15596 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Miniature. TO painted ware (but too encrusted for any design to be seen). Type CCCLXXII. 30. |
| 14445 | (none) | 1935,0113.392 | (none) | Clay pot. Miniature. Red clay. Roughly made. JN91. Not in catalog. [drawing] | |
| 15367 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Painted TO ware. Much broken but complete (papered & pasted) Type CCCLX. =aU.32. |
| 15578 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Painted: fragments. With reddish-brown paint on light red clay. Shape & design doubtful (fragments collected). |
| 14418 | 31-17-299 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Pink clay with greenish drab surface. Between shoulder & neck a horizontal band of red paint from which hang streamers - vertical red strokes in sets of three. Most of the rim missing & a large hole in one side. Type? Cf. Type CLXI. [drawing] | |
| 14417 | 31-16-206 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Pinkish drab clay, spouted. Type TO LXXX. Not in cat. Vol. IV | |
| 15524 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain light drab ware with creamy slip. Type [CCCLXXII crossed out] 52. |
| 15530 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain red clay. Handmade. The body finished off with vertical scraping. Type CCCLXXV. |
| 15628 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain red clay. handmade. Type CCCXCIV, rather smaller variant. |
| 15627 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain red ware. Handmade. Type CCCXCIV? Variant. |
| 14909 | 31-17-317 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain red, burnished. Spouted pot, with a second (sham) spout: the real spout and the rim missing: raised bands on shoulder and down upper part of sides: found all cracked and removed in paper. | |
| 15556 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Plain: light drab ware. Spout missing: the whole much crushed and broken. Type CCCXXXVII. |
| 14416 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Red clay, spouted. Type TO LXXX. Not in cat. vol. IV |
| 14467 | (none) | 1930,1213.245 | (none) | Clay pot. Reddish drab clay. Miniature. Cut in text. Not a type. Not in catalog. [drawing 1:1] |
| 14429 | 31-17-368 | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Reddish drab clay. On the shoulders 3 small lugs pierced horizontally (2broken). Type CCCXV. | |
| 14956 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Situla shape. Light red clay. Rough. Type CCCXXIII. =JN69. Not in catalog. |
| 14492 | (none) | 1930,1213.277 | (none) | Clay pot. Spouted. Of light red clay. [drawing] Type JN145. Not in cat. vol. IV. | |
| 14427 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Spouted. Drab clay (broken & repaired) Type TO LXXX (a rathered full-bellied variant). Not in cat. Vol. IV. |
| 14444 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Clay pot. Spouted. Drab clay. Type CCCXVIII. Not in cat. Vol IV |
| Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPM Field Photo numbers | UPM Field Photo numbers | (none) | (none) | (none) |
| Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods | Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods | 1955 | Woolley, L. | (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
Share
Context
Ur > Pit F
References
Woolley, L. . (1955) Ur Excavations IV; The Early Periods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.