Mud bricks were the primary building blocks at Ur. Most were sun-dried but some were intentionally baked to make them more stable. Baked bricks were typically used in building foundations and as facing to important public buildings, but they were also used extensively in some house walls, especially in the Isin-Larsa/Old Babylonian period. Those used in public buildings were often stamped with a building dedication and the name of the king, and the bricks that were collected from the field are almost exclusively of this type. A few bricks have other impressions in them, such as dog paw prints or inscribed lines imitating gaming boards.

Bricks were rectangular, square, or plano-convex and their sizes sometimes varied with time period, though direct temporal indicators are not clear simply from brick measurements. For Brick Stamps see Stamps/Sealings under Economic/Administrative. 

Objects: Bricks 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)
14451C 31-16-347 (none) (none) [B-C] Brick. Jus. (gypsum burnt & slaked) rectangular, flat on top, made in a wooden mould set on a piece of matting, the impression of which remains on the underside of the brick. Though different in size it is identical in technique & fabric with those at Muraijib (14452-3)
12779D 31-16-349 (none) (none) [A-C] Bricks. 3. Plano-convex, burnt, measuring L. 0215 Width 010 ht. 008 [D-E] Also 2 measuring [reference to dimensions] and having rounded corners. L. 023 Width 0125 ht. 0075
12779E 31-16-350 (none) (none) [A-C] Bricks. 3. Plano-convex, burnt, measuring L. 0215 Width 010 ht. 008 [D-E] Also 2 measuring [reference to dimensions] and having rounded corners. L. 023 Width 0125 ht. 0075
13108 31-16-358 (none) (none) Brick. Contains all the inscription (19? Lines), which is however badly defaced. Apparently completes the fragments RIU 120 and U.11662. (Sin-idinnam) (which are half-bricks).
(none) 31-16-359 (none) (none) (none)
(none) 31-16-720 (none) (none) (none)
(none) 31-16-721 (none) (none) (none)
(none) 35-1-142 (none) (none) (none)
(none) 35-1-394 (none) (none) [Card Missing]
(none) 35-1-395 (none) (none) [Card Missing]
(none) 35-1-396 (none) (none) [Card Missing]
(none) 35-1-397 (none) (none) [Card Missing]
2883 84-26-131 (none) B16560 Bricks of Nabonidus. House of the priestess. Nabonidus, king of Babylon who adorns E-sag-i-la and Ezida, the E-gig-par, the house of the priestess, which is inside of Ur, for Sin, my lord I built. H.C.
(none) 84-26-4 (none) (none) (none)
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Related Terms

Cones - Door/Gate Sockets - Drain Pipes