Description (Catalog Card): Potsherds. Of Jemdat Nasr type with 3-color decoration all from one pot, but making up only a female fr. of it (see sketch in field notes). [Annotated] Card received from Mallowan, 19762     
Find Context (Catalog Card): PFT D7 level -8.5m     
Material (Catalog Card): Clay3     
U Number: 14456     
Museum: British Museum      
Object Type: Vessels/Containers >> Fragments >> Rims      
Season Number: 08: 1929-1930      
Culture/Period: Early Dynastic / Sumerian >> EDI-II 1     
Object Type: Vessels/Containers >> Closed Forms >> Jars 1     
Description (Modern): Part of the wall of a large pottery jar with remains of base ring; decorated with painted geometrical pattern; coloured black, red and the buff of the surface; Scarlet Ware; repaired.1     
Material: Inorganic Remains >> Clay >> Fired >> Pottery/Ceramic      
Material: Inorganic Remains >> Clay      
Museum Number (BM Big Number): 122877     
Museum Number (BM Registration Number): 1930,1213.177     
Measurement (Height): 2151     
Measurement (Width): 1461     
Start Date: 2900BC1     
Fabric: Grit and vegetal tempered brown clay1     
Ware: Scarlet Ware1     
[1] Data collected by British Museum research team.
[2] Woolley's description
[3] Material as described by Woolley

Locations: 14456 | 1930,1213.177 Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Location Context Title Context Description Description (Modern)
Pit F 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. (none)
  • 1 Location

Media: 14456 | 1930,1213.177 Export: JSON - XML - CSV

Media Media Title Title Label Author Omeka Label
Woolley's Catalog Cards Woolley's Catalog Cards Card -- BM ID:194 Box:59 Page:102 Card -- BM ID:194 Box:59 Page:102 (none)
  • 1 Media

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Context

Ur >> Pit F


References

[title missing], .