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

UE 4 Pit F.pdf - Download

UE 4 Pit F.2.pdf - Download

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)
13705A	(none)	(none)	(none)	(A) Upper quern-stone. dark grey larve. Set in a round-topped lump of bitumen which served as a handle; (B) A lower saddle quern-stone of dark lava.
13705B	(none)	1930,1213.271	(none)	(A) Upper quern-stone. dark grey larve. Set in a round-topped lump of bitumen which served as a handle; (B) A lower saddle quern-stone of dark lava.
(none)	(none)	1930,1213.174	(none)	(none)
(none)	31-17-171	(none)	(none)	(none)
13645	(none)	(none)	(none)	(none)
14953	(none)	1930,1213.109	(none)	16 beads. Various. Collected from one stratum.
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.
14933A	31-16-576	(none)	(none)	A Clay nails. Round type, the shaft mostly straight and bent round at the tip, which is missing. B. Complete, the end bent round greenish clay.
14933B	31-16-577	(none)	(none)	A Clay nails. Round type, the shaft mostly straight and bent round at the tip, which is missing. B. Complete, the end bent round greenish clay.
14494	31-17-87	(none)	(none)	Amulet of pink pebble. Rudely cut in form of a bird. [drawing 1:1]
13731	(none)	(none)	(none)	Amulet. Black stone. In form of a dog. [drawing 1:1]
14944	(none)	1930,1213.152	(none)	Amulet. Pink stone. A phallus. [drawing 1:1]
15356A	31-16-735	(none)	(none)	Baked clay figurine. 2 fragments from similar figure. Green clay with black paint. Nude female figure with painted waist-band. The modelling of the lower part is unusually free and round. [drawing]
15356B	31-16-737	(none)	(none)	Baked clay figurine. 2 fragments from similar figure. Green clay with black paint. Nude female figure with painted waist-band. The modelling of the lower part is unusually free and round. [drawing]
15142	31-16-89	(none)	(none)	Baked clay vase. Light drab. Type CCCXXIX. Not in catalog.
15141	31-16-111	(none)	(none)	Baked clay vase. Light drab. Type CCCXXVII. Not in catalog.
15143	(none)	(none)	(none)	Baked clay vase. Light drab. Type: CCCXXVIII. New JN49. Not in catalog.
13763	(none)	(none)	(none)	Bead. Carnelian, with white bleached pattern. [drawing]
14928	31-16-764	(none)	(none)	Bead. Clay. Imitating one of shell core. Not in catalog.
14905	31-16-765	(none)	(none)	Bead. Clay. Imitation of one cut from the core of a shell, with spiral band. Not in catalog.
13727	(none)	1930,1213.546	(none)	Bead. Dark grey pebble. Lentoid flattened on 1 side like a stamp seal, but plain underneath. [drawing]
14940	31-17-81	(none)	(none)	Bead. Globular. Translucent light blue glass(?) (or jadeite?)
14433	(none)	1930,1213.367, 1930,1213.367	(none)	Bead. Red clay bugle. Made in imitation of shell with spiral band round (1 end broken). Not in catalog.
14929	(none)	1930,1213.363	(none)	Bead. White stone (marble?) Like a shell bead, a long bugle thickened in centre.
14469	(none)	1930,1213.151	(none)	Bead. Blue glazed frit. Double conoid.

Page 1 of 22
Next
25 of 545 Objects

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)