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)
14483	31-17-95	(none)	(none)	Beads. Eleven various. Including one of black obsidian (?) shape thus: [drawing] Not in Catalog Vol. IV. [drawing]
14494	31-17-87	(none)	(none)	Amulet of pink pebble. Rudely cut in form of a bird. [drawing 1:1]
14407	31-17-86	(none)	(none)	Figurine (amulet?) of a bull, white stone. Carved in the round: the eyes originally inlaid and in one is preserved the ring of white shell. Pierced behind the shoulder for suspension. [drawing 1:1]
13733	31-17-85	(none)	(none)	Bone roundel. With engraved cross on one side. [drawing 1:1]
15370	31-17-82	(none)	(none)	2 beads. Green stone, ? jade. 1 - is roughly chipped to a ring. The 2nd is a fat polished ring.
14940	31-17-81	(none)	(none)	Bead. Globular. Translucent light blue glass(?) (or jadeite?)
15368	31-17-72	(none)	(none)	Beads. Very small white shell rings. Found on the arm.
14973	31-17-71	(none)	(none)	Beads. Very small white shell rings. Found with the body in early grave below kilns.
15369G	31-17-44	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
15369F	31-17-43	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
15369E	31-17-42	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
15369D	31-17-41	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
(none)	31-17-404	(none)	(none)	[U number not assigned in field]
13710	31-17-402	(none)	(none)	Libation vase drab clay. Type ?12CXLIV [unclear] Not published [ This contradicts publication info on same catalog card]
15369C	31-17-40	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
15369B	31-17-39	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
14474	31-17-380	(none)	(none)	Pot sherds. Plain red, finely burnished all belonging to a single pot but forming together only a small part of it. (see field notes) (Card received from Mallowan 1976)
15369A	31-17-38	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
(none)	31-17-378	(none)	(none)	unknown
13708	31-17-370	(none)	(none)	Clay jar. Fragments of. With nicked ornament on rim & shoulder-line, and combed or scrabbled ornament on shoulder (see field notes for drawing). Type RC.116 variant.
15369	31-17-37	(none)	(none)	Beads. Rings of white shell, a great quantity found forming 4 strings round the neck
15340	31-17-369	(none)	(none)	Clay pedestal bowl. Light red clay with cream slip, inside the bowl. (broken). Type CCCXLII
14429	31-17-368	(none)	(none)	Clay pot. Reddish drab clay. On the shoulders 3 small lugs pierced horizontally (2broken). Type CCCXV.
15513	31-17-367	(none)	(none)	Clay pot. TO painted ware. Black on light drab. In fragments (too broken to type accurately). Type ? [one type crossed out] 360. 32.
15619	31-17-364	(none)	(none)	Fragment of clay platter. (about one half) TO painted ware. Black on green. Type CCCLXVI but with narrow rim. aU.5.

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Media: Pit F Export: JSON - XML - CSV

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)