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Ur: The Royal Graves

• 
  Headdress with leaf-shaped ornaments, 2600–2500 B.C.; Early Dynastic period IIIa; Sumerian style
  Excavated at "King's Grave," Ur, Mesopotamia
  Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian; L. 15 3/16 in. (38.5 cm)
  Dodge Fund, 1933 (33.35.3)
  
• 
  Lunate earrings, 2500–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIa period
  Excavated at the "Great Death Pit," Ur, Mesopotamia
  Gold
  Dodge Fund, 1933 (33.35.45,.46)
  
• 
  Four strands of beads, 2500–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIa period
  Excavated at the "Great Death Pit," Ur, Mesopotamia
  Gold, lapis lazuli; L. 21.26 in. (54 cm)
  Dodge Fund, 1933 (33.35.48)
  
• 
  Necklace choker, 2500–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIa period
  Excavated at the "Great Death Pit," Ur, Mesopotamia
  Gold, lapis lazuli; L. 8.86 in. (22.5 cm)
  Dodge Fund, 1933 (33.35.47)
  

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In 1922, C. Leonard Woolley began to excavate the ancient city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). By the following year, he had finished his initial survey and dug a trench near the ruined ziggurat. His team of workmen found evidence of burials and jewelry made of gold and precious stones. They called this the "gold trench." Woolley recognized, however, that he and his workforce had insufficient experience to excavate burials. He therefore concentrated on excavating buildings and it wasn't until 1926 that the team returned to the gold trench. Woolley began to reveal an extensive cemetery and gradually uncovered some 1,800 graves. Most of the graves consisted of simple pits with the body laid in a clay coffin or wrapped in reed matting. Vessels, jewelry, and personal items surrounded the body. However, sixteen of the graves were unusual. These were not just simple pits but stone tombs, often with several rooms. There were many bodies buried in the graves, surrounded by spectacular objects. Woolley called these the "Royal Tombs." From his finds he attempted to reconstruct the burials. One tomb possibly belonged to the queen Pu-abi. Her title and name are written in cuneiform on a cylinder seal found close to her body. When she was buried, soldiers guarded the entrance to the pit while serving ladies crowded the floor. Woolley discovered their bodies. He suggested that they might have taken poison. Pu-abi herself was buried in a stone tomb at the far end of the pit. The finds from the Royal Graves were eventually divided between the British Museum, London, the University Museum, Philadelphia (both sponsors of the dig), and the Iraq National Museum, Baghdad.

Woolley discovered their bodies. He suggested that they might have taken poison.

Related

Timelines (1)

• Mesopotamia, 8000–2000 b.c.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Early Dynastic Sculpture, 2900–2350 B.C.
• List of Rulers of Mesopotamia
• Ur: The Ziggurat

Other Thematic Essays (4)

• Egyptian Red Gold
• The Origins of Writing in Mesopotamia
• The Ubaid Period (5500
• Uruk: The First City

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 8000-2000 B.C.
• World, 8000-2000 B.C.

Index Terms (15)

Art Movement/Style

• Early Bronze Age of Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Early Dynastic Period in the Ancient Near East

Geography/Place

• Iraq

Material and Technique

• Gold
• Gold from West Asia

Object

• Accessories for Clothing
• Personal Ornament
• Beads
• Earrings
• Head Ornament
• Necklace

Subject Matter/Theme

• Archaeology
• Archaeology from Asia
• Funerary Art
• Funerary Art from West Asia

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Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "Ur: The Royal Graves". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/urrg/hd_urrg.htm (October 2003) Further Reading Moorey, P. R. S. "What Do We Know About the People Buried in the Royal Cemetery?" Expedition 20, no. 1 (1977), pp. 24–40.. n/a: n/a, n/a. Woolley, C. Leonard, and P. R. S. Moorey Ur 'of the Chaldees.' Rev. ed. . Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982. Woolley, C. Leonard, et al. The Royal Cemetery: A Report on the Predynastic and Sargonid Graves Excavated between 1926 and 1931. Ur Excavations, vol. 2. . London and Philadelphia: Joint Expedition of the British Museum and of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1934. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Crawford, Vaughn Emerson "The Third Millenium B.C. [Art of the Ancient Near East]." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 18, no. 8 (April, 1960). JSTOR | PDF