AH Site | AH
| Context Title: | AH Site | AH |
| Context Name (Excavation): | AH; Abraham's Housing |
| Context Name (Publication): | AH Site |
| Context Description: | In the southeast portion of the mound of Ur, Woolley excavated a large horizontal extent of domestic space roughly 115 x 85m. near the surface he found scattered Neo-Babylonian and Kassite remains and intrusive graves of the late periods but he did not publish these in detail nor are there any extant notes covering them. Instead, Woolley's main goal was to uncover the best preserved floorplans of houses. These he found several meters down, houses of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian period. Because the Old Babylonian period was typically that associated with the potential time of Abraham, Woolley used the abbreviation AH (Abraham's Housing) to refer to this excavation area. In the course of excavation of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian levels Woolley numbered 27 'houses,' or excavation units. He renumbered the houses for publication based on the overall plan, preserved walls, and doors onto streets. In this way he showed there were 52 individual houses within his 27 excavation areas. However, houses were frequently altered throughout period, as families would knock out walls or block up doors, and thus true house numbers are difficult to establish. Woolley mentions phases of rebuilding, but states that he sought the best preserved floor plan and published the excavation of a particular house based on that plan alone. In some cases he noted deeper remains that may have gone back to the Ur III period. These levels he partially uncovered as he excavated graves beneath the Larsa period floors. A great deal of baked brick was in use for walls of the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian period. Some houses used it in the lowest portion of a wall, but others used it for entire walls up to 3 meters in height. Town planning was not evident, as streets tended to wander in narrow and winding paths. Corners where streets met were often rounded, leading Woolley to surmise that this was to prevent problems with laden donkeys catching their wares on corners. Many houses had a domestic chapel within, often with family burials beneath the floor. Communal chapels were also noted, at least four being identified in the area. Finally, Woolley believed that some buildings were specifically used for commercial activities (shops), though this is difficult to prove. |
Files
| Object | U Number | Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number) | Museum Number (BM Registration Number) | Museum Number (UPM B-number) | Description (Catalog Card) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 518 | (none) | (none) | B15184 | Terracotta relief - Complete: greenish pottery. 2 male fig. advancing front. Each has tall feather(?) head-dress, long hair curled over ears, Semitic nose, long beard arranged in 3 rows of short curls and +long straight hair to a point: the right arm by the side, l. across body with in hand the litnus: drapery to knees, crossing legs diagonally. Behind, two legs to make the relief stand upright. | |
 | 524 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Tablet., complete. See U376. Dated. |
| 847 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Cylinder seal. Black steatite. Gilgamesh and his friend killing their favorite winged gryphon. Fairly good work. |
| 1668 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Jar. Drab clay; wheelmade. B. Type CVIII. =P.131 |
| 1732 | (none) | (none) | B15691 | Terracotta figurine. Fragment. Lower part only, from waist of seated female(?) figure; no details of dress, etc, except that the skirt was flounced. P. | |
| 1778 | (none) | (none) | B15688 | Figurine. Drab clay. Head and shoulders only, with headdress. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 1779 | (none) | (none) | B15687 | Figurine. Drab clay. Head and shoulders only, in profile. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 2502 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Cylinder seal. Inscribed. Glass paste. Bluish white. Broken. Fragments missing. Two lines nearly illegible: ( )-bi-a; ( ) -il. Figures worn, indistinct. Neo-Babylon - Persian Period. |
| 2503 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Cylinder seal. Not inscribed. greyish soapstone. Weather worn. Presentation to a seated goddess. Worshipper led by the hand. Flat crescent. Pillar-shaped altar [shown in drawing] (double). 24 x 33mm. Babylonian. About BC 2500. [drawing] |
| 2504 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Cylinder seal. Fragment. Brown limestone. Fragment. One worshipper - one standing figure - of a god: Between them the crescent [shown in drawing] on a short support. About BC 2300 |
| 2505 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Doubtful cylinder seal. greyish limestone. Unpierced fragment. A few lines of figures or signs [shown in drawing]. Period ? [drawing] |
| 2506 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Earring. Gold. Crescent lunar type. Heavy - hollow metal. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2507 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Earring. Gold. Crescent lunar type. Heavy - hollow metal. [drawing] |
| 2511 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Mask. Terracotta. Pierced for suspension, grotesque bearded head. [drawing] |
| 2512 | 31-16-938 | (none) | (none) | Mask. Terracotta. Pierced for suspension, grotesque head, much broken. [drawing 1:1] | |
| 2514 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Figurine. Buff clay. Nude female, mitred and with necklace. Legs missing below the knee. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2516 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Figurine. Red clay. Male with necklace, head and torso only, headdress missing. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2522 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Lion's head. Lightly fired drab clay. Fragment. Showing muzzle only. Hand modeled in the round. [drawing] |
| 2525 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Red clay figurine. Female with flounced skirt, holding bottles. Head missing. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2526 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Gold earring. Crescent shaped, plate on core; cracked round edge. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2529 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Cylinder seal. Soapstone. Slightly concave. Recut. Rough inscription added. [inscription represented here] Perhaps, sal-me zu: thy salme. A special class of votary. The scene represents an introduction to a seated goddess. About 2400 BC. Inscription more recent. [drawing] |
| 2531 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Carved shell head. Male, shaven. Neck pierced for suspension. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2533 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Figurine. Drab clay. Seated figure with flounced dress, stars either side and dog at right foot, and monkey to left. Upper part missing. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2534 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Carved shell mask. Mother-of-pearl. Pierced for suspension. [drawing 1:1] |
| 2536 | (none) | (none) | (none) | Stone plumb-bob. [drawing 1:1] |
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- 25 of 1534 Objects
| Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ur Excavations VI; The Ur III Period | Ur Excavations VI; The Ur III Period | 1974 | Woolley, Leonard | (none) |
| Ur Excavations VII; The Old Babylonian Period | Ur Excavations VII; The Old Babylonian Period | 1976 | Woolley, L. and M. Mallowan | (none) |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p183 | Ur_Notes_v3_p183 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p182 | Ur_Notes_v3_p182 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p181 | Ur_Notes_v3_p181 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p176 | Ur_Notes_v3_p176 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p175 | Ur_Notes_v3_p175 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p174 | Ur_Notes_v3_p174 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p173 | Ur_Notes_v3_p173 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p172back | Ur_Notes_v3_p172back | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p172 | Ur_Notes_v3_p172 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p171 | Ur_Notes_v3_p171 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p170 | Ur_Notes_v3_p170 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p169 | Ur_Notes_v3_p169 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p168 | Ur_Notes_v3_p168 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p167 | Ur_Notes_v3_p167 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p166 | Ur_Notes_v3_p166 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p165 | Ur_Notes_v3_p165 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p164 | Ur_Notes_v3_p164 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p163 | Ur_Notes_v3_p163 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p162back | Ur_Notes_v3_p162back | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p162 | Ur_Notes_v3_p162 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p161 | Ur_Notes_v3_p161 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p160 | Ur_Notes_v3_p160 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Ur_Notes_v3_p158 | Ur_Notes_v3_p158 | (none) |
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- 25 of 133 Media
Sibling Locations
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 - Pit F - Royal Cemetery | PG - SM - Temenos Wall | TW - TTC - XNCF - Ziggurat Terrace | ZT
Child Locations
Baker's Square - Bazaar Alley - Boundary Street - Broad Street - Church Lane - Graves - House I - House Ia - House II - House III - House IV - House IX - House V - House VI - House VII - House VIII - House X - House XI - House XII - House XIII - House XIV - House XIX - House XV - House XVI - House XVII - House XVIII - House XX - House XXI - House XXII - House XXIII - House XXIV - House XXV - House XXVI - House XXVII - Niche Lane | Shop Street - Old Street - Paternoster Row - Post E - Store Street - Straight Street | Division Street
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Context
Ur > AH Site | AH
References
Woolley, Leonard. (1974) Ur Excavations VI; The Ur III Period, Oxford: Oxford University Press.