Title: Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery     
Date: 1934     
Author: Woolley, Leonard     
Publisher: Oxford University Press     
Publication place: Oxford     

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Objects: Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery | Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Object U Number Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number) Museum Number (BM Registration Number) Museum Number (UPM B-number) Description (Catalog Card)
11964.1 30-12-653 (none) (none) [.1-.2] Part of Frontlet (?) 2 lapis & 1 gold facetted lentoid beads: (perhaps worn on silver chains which have disappeared)
11965 30-12-662 (none) (none) Gold earring. Small, lunate ends to spiral.
11966A (none) (none) (none) [A] Amulet. Lapis. in form of a fish; and with it [B] a carnelian lentoid pendant. Fish (tail broken ancietly)
11968 (none) (none) (none) Gold Disk. Filigree work. Originally mounted on a silver disk which is now mostly decayed.
11969A 30-12-255B (none) (none) Silver & Copper vessels. Corroded together. [A] Silver bowl. [B-C] Inside this 2 copper bowls slightly smaller; [D] inside these another copper bowl; [E] inside that, a copper tumbler, (crushed).
11971 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Lapis & silver. Double conoids and lentoids.
11972 (none) (none) (none) Stone vase. White calcite (rim decayed & chipped). Type LVI [Crossed out] 87 new. [drawing]
11973 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder Seal. Lapis. Geometric design.
11974A (none) (none) (none) [A] Beads. Double conoids & lentoids of gold & lapis. [B-C] 2 earrings, spiral coils of silver wire.
11975B (none) (none) (none) Beads. (A) = set of 4, 2 carnelian & 2 lapis lentoids; (B)= set of very small lapis & some carnelian; [C] with them1 earring, spiral coil of silver wire.
11975C (none) (none) (none) Beads. (A) = set of 4, 2 carnelian & 2 lapis lentoids; (B)= set of very small lapis & some carnelian; [C] with them 1 earring, spiral coil of silver wire.
11978 30-12-9 (none) (none) Cylinder Seal. White shell. Decayed, but design visible of fighting animals.
11981 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder Seal. White shell. 2 men fighting a lion.
11983A (none) (none) (none) [A] Cylinder Seal. Dark steatite. 3 [regetration? illegible] gods & attendants. With it [B] copper pin with plain rounded head.
11984 30-12-590 (none) (none) Beads. A few, small balls of lapis & carnelian & gold-plated copper.
11987 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder Seal. Dark steatite. Presentation scene.
11989 (none) (none) (none) Beads. A few only of blue-glazed frit, small lentoids & 1 large barrel bead.
11990 (none) (none) (none) Cylinder Seal. Greenish white calcite, translucent. [Annotated] Inscription: Kalam-il (DU =?) ra-gab =Kalam-il envoy (or the like). [Annotated] HC..17.
11991 (none) (none) (none) Gold Diadem. Plain thin gold. [drawing]
11992 (none) (none) (none) Gold ribbon. Thin & narrow. A spiral twist, from a lock over the forehead.
11993 (none) (none) (none) Gold earring one only. Spiral coil with lunate ends.
11994 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Small lapis diamonds & balls, & some silver forming a bracelet. Also, 2 carnelian bugles.
11998 30-12-591 (none) (none) Beads, a few only, Carnelian balls and diamonds
12001 (none) (none) (none) Beads. From a frontlet. 2 lapis & 1 gold facetted lentoids & 1 small carnelian bugle.
12004A 30-12-36 (none) (none) [A] Cylinder Seal Black Steatite with this a [B] copper pin, plain tang head. Type II.
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Locations: Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery | Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Location Context Title Context Description Description (Modern)
Royal Cemetery | PG The excavation area abbreviation PG grew to refer to a large region, at least 60x80 meters, in the southeastern portion of the Neo-Babylonian temenos but below the level of that wall. The area is most often referred to as the Royal Cemetery. The abbreviation PG, however, was initially used to designate individual graves: PG1422, for example, refers to Private Grave number 1422. The first PG numbers were assigned in season 5 when a series of trial trenches (see TTD, TTE, TTF, and TTG) were excavated in the area. These trenches were expanded to uncover more and more graves over the next few seasons. The last number assigned in the PG sequence was around 1850 but numbers were often reassigned for publication and even in the field some numbers were combined as they were recognized to come from one large grave rather than two separate ones. Others were deemed to fragmentary to publish; furthermore, several hundred additional graves were found in Pit X, an expansion of the PG area dug in 1934. The total number of graves excavated in the Royal Cemetery is thus extremely difficult to determine. Woolley reports that there may once have been as many as three times the total number of graves he recorded, as he found many plundered and almost completely destroyed. Despite being called the Royal Cemetery, there were only 16 graves that Woolley actually dubbed 'royal.' He believed that these formed the core of the burial ground and that many other people wanted to be buried nearby. The cemetery lay outside of the original temenos, the core of the city, and was apparently a dumping ground through much of its history. Stratigraphic layers of sealings (see SIS) help to date the main period of the Royal Cemetery to the Early Dynastic III, though there are also graves of the Akkadian and perhaps some of the early Ur III period here. Well beneath the main PG area are also graves of the Uruk and Ubaid periods, but these were mainly uncovered in pits dug within or adjacent to area PG (see PJ, Pit W, Pit X, Pit Y and Pit Z). Most burials in area PG were simple inhumations with few artifacts, but the ones Woolley called royal were much more elaborate. Apart from having rich artifacts, they also showed evidence of human sacrifice -- many bodies were found in 'death pits' outside the main 'royal' burial. The people found in these death pits may have been attendants who went into the afterlife with their king or queen, yet no other indication of this practice is found elsewhere in Mesopotamia. Nor do we know who these 'kings and queens' were. The dating of the graves makes it difficult to associate them with a known dynasty at Ur and there were very few names found with any of the bodies. Only the burial of Puabi, the Queen, can be directly identified by her cylinder seal and she does not appear on any king list. References to Mesannepada and his wife Ninbanda, a king and queen of the first dynasty of Ur, were found but not in specific graves. Instead, they were found in material above the main graves and would imply that the royal tombs pre-date the first dynasty. Woolley spent a great deal of time and energy excavating the Royal Cemetery and the majority of his field notes concern it. Recording of contexts here, then, is better than anywhere else at Ur. Nonetheless, not all of the graves were mapped and photographs were often difficult to obtain. (none)
PG/1422 (none) (none)
Burial 1 (none) (none)
Burial 10 (none) (none)
Burial 11 (none) (none)
Burial 12 (none) (none)
Burial 13 (none) (none)
Burial 14 (none) (none)
Burial 15 (none) (none)
Burial 16 (none) (none)
Burial 17 (none) (none)
Burial 18 (none) (none)
Burial 19 (none) (none)
Burial 2 (none) (none)
Burial 20 (none) (none)
Burial 21 (none) (none)
Burial 22 (none) (none)
Burial 23 (none) (none)
Burial 24 (none) (none)
Burial 25 (none) (none)
Burial 26 (none) (none)
Burial 27 (none) (none)
Burial 28 (none) (none)
Burial 29 (none) (none)
Burial 3 (none) (none)
  • Page 1 of 4
  • 25 of 76 Locations

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Context

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 1401-1500 >> PG/1422

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 1

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 10

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 11

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 12

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 13

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 14

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 15

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 16

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 17

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 18

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 19

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 2

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 20

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 21

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 22

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 23

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 24

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 25

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 26

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 27

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 28

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 29

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 3

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 30

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 31

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 32

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 33

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 34

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 35

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 36

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 37

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 38

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 39

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 4

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 40

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 41

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 42

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 43

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 44

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 45

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 46

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 47

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 48

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 49

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 5

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 50

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 51

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 52

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 53

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 54

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 55

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 56

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 57 | Burial G

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 58

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 59

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 6

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 60

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 61

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 62

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 7

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 8

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 701-800 >> PG/789 >> Burial 9

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves Area | PGA

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTA

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTD

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTE

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTE >> Private Graves 1-100 >> PG/95

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTE >> Private Graves 101-200 >> PG/108

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTE >> Private Graves 201-300 >> PG/208

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTE >> Private Graves 201-300 >> PG/250

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTF

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTF >> PG/453

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTF >> PG/563

Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> TTG


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