Silver is a soft, white, lustrous metal.  It is highly malleable, and has a low melting point, making it easy to cast.  It can be produced as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.  It can be highly polished, leading to a very reflective surface.  

Most of the silver found at Ur is in jewelry, but sometimes it is made into axes or mirrors.  These are found mainly in the royal tombs.  

Objects: Silver 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)
10998 (none) (none) (none) Silver Tumbler. Fluted, and engraved round rim with band of chevrons and herring-bone design. Smaller than but otherwise identical with those from PG 800 B. Type LXVI. [Additional notes on back of card, meaning unknown]
10999 (none) (none) (none) Silver Pin. With lapis ball head capped with gold. Type V. near I.
11106A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Silver Bangles (2) 1 - broken but complete; the other decayed and part missing. Single coil. Ends loose.
11146A (none) (none) (none) [A-B] Silver earrings. (2) 2 1/2 coils.
11151 (none) (none) (none) Silver Pin. With plain silver head. Curved type. Shaft broken. Type VI.
11152A (none) (none) (none) [A-F] Silver earrings. 6. Plain spiral coils. (Altogether)
11155 (none) (none) (none) Silver Ostrich Shell. Originally decorated on base and round the rim with incrustation in shell, lapis, and red stone. All ornament gone: the Shell much distorted and broken.
11162A (none) (none) (none) (A) Gaming-board. Set in silver. Shell plaques engraved with lapis borders engraved with animal scenes, except for 2 in rosettes. Only part of it was found, giving in all: 13 plaques of which 6 were still in their setting and 7 loose: these have been reset, those in original order in the top 2 rows, the rest below, and one rosette piece omitted. Orig. W. 120mm(?); plaques 32 x 40mm; 35mm square. With this must go: (B) Gaming pieces, of white shell, square with engraved scenes, in all 9 and one half piece. (C) Gaming pieces, circular, of balck shale with 5 white dots, diam. 25mm, 3 in all. (D) one white disk with blue spot. (E) Small balls of lapis, 8 in all. (F) 23 small white balls (these are perhaps counters)? (G) 3 lapis dice, of usual solid triangle with inlay dots at 2 points. (H) 6 square men, black and white spots. (NB: Some of the gaming pieces B & C were found in Chamber B.) [I] [Not assigned] (J) [J, L-M] 3 slender rods, square in section, of ivory (?) with engraved patterns on one edge and concentric circles on the other. L. 65mm, W. 4mm (K) in the inside of the board (a box) was a complete set of men, 7 white and 7 black, the former with animal scenes, the latter with 5 white dots.
11166A (none) (none) (none) [A-C] Silver earrings (3) Plain wire spiral coils.
11168 (none) 1928,1010.125 (none) Silver Pin. WIth plain lapis ball head. Type V.
11171 (none) (none) (none) Silver Pin. With fluted lapis head, bent type. Type VI.
11214 (none) (none) B16969 Silver Paint Box. In 2 compartments consisting of 2 small hemispherical bowls with a straight partition between. Traces of black paint in one compartment. Minute perforated lugs on either side in the middle to allow of suspension. Rib runs round width of belly of box on the outside. [drawing]
11216 (none) (none) (none) [A-B] 2 Silver earrings. 2 1/2 coils.
11223 (none) (none) (none) Beads. 2 lapis: lentoids, facetted, one broken. Wood (?) lentoid, 2 carnelian rings, also one silver earring.
11230D (none) (none) (none) Head Ornament. (A) Gold ribbon. (B) Wreath of carnelian & lapis lazuli beads with gold mulberry leaf pendants. (C) [C.1-.2] Pair large lunate gold earrings. (D) Silver head ornament with inlaid rosette finials-gold, silver & shell. (E) [E and K] 2 silver pins with bent heads capped by a lapis ball head. Type VI. (F) Necklace of fluted lapis ball beads. (G) Frontlet of beads in 7 rows, gold, bugle, carnelian ring beads, lapis bugles. (H) Necklace of lapis & gold triangles. (I) Necklace of alternate lapis & silver double conoids. (J) Miniature vase of light drab clay, part of rim missing.
11230E (none) (none) (none) Head Ornament. (A) Gold ribbon. (B) Wreath of carnelian & lapis lazuli beads with gold mulberry leaf pendants. (C) [C.1-.2] Pair large lunate gold earrings. (D) Silver head ornament with inlaid rosette finials-gold, silver & shell. (E) [E and K] 2 silver pins with bent heads capped by a lapis ball head. Type VI. (F) Necklace of fluted lapis ball beads. (G) Frontlet of beads in 7 rows, gold, bugle, carnelian ring beads, lapis bugles. (H) Necklace of lapis & gold triangles. (I) Necklace of alternate lapis & silver double conoids. (J) Miniature vase of light drab clay, part of rim missing.
11230I (none) (none) (none) Head Ornament. (A) Gold ribbon. (B) Wreath of carnelian & lapis lazuli beads with gold mulberry leaf pendants. (C) [C.1-.2] Pair large lunate gold earrings. (D) Silver head ornament with inlaid rosette finials-gold, silver & shell. (E) [E and K] 2 silver pins with bent heads capped by a lapis ball head. Type VI. (F) Necklace of fluted lapis ball beads. (G) Frontlet of beads in 7 rows, gold, bugle, carnelian ring beads, lapis bugles. (H) Necklace of lapis & gold triangles. (I) Necklace of alternate lapis & silver double conoids. (J) Miniature vase of light drab clay, part of rim missing.
11413C (none) (none) (none) (A) Copper Pin. (B) Copper finger ring plain wire ring with overlapping ends. (C) Silver finger ring the bezel straight: made of double wire with ends overlapping.
11427 (none) 1929,1017.306 (none) Beads. Re-strung mostly in original order (see field notes). Carnelian, lapis, silver, jasper and glass.
11451 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Small mixed beads: carnelian, silver, lapis. (for original order see tomb notes.
11452B (none) (none) (none) Group. Consisting of [A] (1) a cylinder seal of red baked clay with white slip: in poor condition but interesting for its fabric. It is attached to part of a copper pin. Inscription EN-dUtu(?); [B] (2) a few beads of lapis and silver, mixed types; [C] (3) a silver hair-ring, 5 spiral coils of thin wire; [D] (4) a copper pin, point missing.
11452C (none) (none) (none) Group. Consisting of [A] (1) a cylinder seal of red baked clay with white slip: in poor condition but interesting for its fabric. It is attached to part of a copper pin. Inscription EN-dUtu(?); [B] (2) a few beads of lapis and silver, mixed types; [C] (3) a silver hair-ring, 5 spiral coils of thin wire; [D] (4) a copper pin, point missing.
11468A (none) 1929,1017.321 (none) Beads. (A) A string of lapis and carnelian bugles & double conoids with a few of silver decayed, and a lapis cylinder with criss-cross pattern. (B) Small rings of paste & lapis with a lapis frog amulet.
11471 (none) (none) (none) Hollow ball. Thin silver. It may have been originally an unusually large pin-head: there PG: loose there are remains of copper inside as if the pin fastening it to the stem.
11472 (none) (none) (none) Beads. Small beads of glaze & silver with 1 triangular steatite spacer. Poor.

Related Terms

Copper Alloy - Electrum - Gold - Iron - Lead