Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards

Omeka ID:	5314

Transcription:	Pg 1237 X.1. In - S. & W corners o - pit fires had been burnt before - bones were laid down. - Bodies had been laid in position after death, starting w those along - SW wall : - heads o each successive row lay over - legs o - row before After - bodies had been put in place a mass o broken mud brick & clay was thrown over them & apparently stamped down : it lay immediately on - bodies & - pressure had been enough for beads etc to be driven into - frs. o mud brick. This hard mass was about 020 thick & on - top o it came a rather less compact filling wch still contained plenty o clay & broken mud brick & some (but not many) potsherds, wch gave to - filling a total ht o 090 above floor level. This seems to h formed - floor across wch - waggons were driven to - next chamber. Above this is much lighter clean packing until one comes to - layer o green clay & bricks wch spread over a large part o - room at - ht o 2.30.

Location	Context Title	Context Description	Description (Modern)
	PG/1237	Woolley called this the 'Great Death Pit' because it is the largest of all the death pits in the royal cemetery. He found 74 bodies within but did not find a built chamber, an aspect he believed essential to royal tombs. Woolley declared the chamber must have been completely looted away and pointed to small amounts of rubble as evidence of this, but in fact the large size of this death pit and the particular wealth displayed by Body 61 may indicate that the primary burial was among the attendants in this case.	(none)