Living in Sumerian Ur - Warwick



The ZigguratsBuilt circa 2100–500s B.C.E.Sumer / Babylonia / Assyria.High atop the ziggurats, scholars believe there was either a shrine to the greatest god of the location or an area designed for astronomical observation. Since there are no complete ziggurats left in the world, we cannot know with certainty. Ziggurats may have developed from earlier shrines that were raised above ground level.The Great Ziggurat of Ur was built by Ur-Nammu in the 21st Century B.C.E. and was dedicated to the moon god Nanna/Sin. It is a rectangular, three-layer ziggurat, without interior chambers. Entered by three staircases (one in the front, and one on each side), its sides aligned from north to south and from east to west. It was built using sun-baked mud bricks and with a baked brick casing for protection.left1016000Objects from The Royal Cemetary of Ur339090020193000Head of Lion Head of a Lion from the Royal Cemetery of URMade of silver, lapis lazuli and shell; one of a pair of protomes (animal-like decoration) found in the "death pit" of Queen Puabi's tomb chamber. These heads were 45 cm apart and had originally been attached to a wooden object. Woolley suggested they might have been the decoration for the arms of a chair. The head is one of many masterpieces of art from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, ca 2550 BCE.3686175698500Headdress of Queen Puabi Queen Puabi was the name of a woman buried in one of the richest of the tombs excavated the Royal Cemetery. Puabi (her name, found on a cylinder seal within the tomb, was probably closer to Pu-abum) was approximately 40 years old at the time of her death.Puabi's tomb was a stone and mud brick structure measuring 4.35 x 2.8 meters. She was placed on a raised platform, wearing this elaborate gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian headdress and the beaded jewelry. A large pit, probably representing a sunken courtyard or entry shafts into Puabi's burial chamber, held over seventy skeletons. The Archaeologists called this area the Great Death Pit. the individuals buried here are thought to have been sacrificial victims who had attended a banquet in this spot before their deaths. Although they are believed to have been servants and labourers, most of the skeletons wore elaborate pieces of jewelry?and held precious stone and metal vessels.363918530861000Feasting and Death at Ur Ostrich Egg Shaped Vessel from Ur.The people buried at the Royal Cemetery were members of the elite classes, who held ritual or managerial roles in the temples or palaces at Ur. Evidence suggests that feasts were associated with royal tomb burials, with guests who included the family of the high-status person who had died, plus the persons who would be sacrificed to die with the royal head of household. Many of the banquet attendees still hold a cup or bowl in their hands when found as skeletonsFigure Caption: Vessel in the shape of an ostrich egg, made of gold, lapis lazuli, red limestone, shell, and bitumen, hammered from a single sheet of gold and with geometric mosaics at the top and bottom of the egg. The dazzling array of materials came from trade with neighbours in Afghanistan, Iran, Anatolia, and perhaps Egypt and Nubia.Retainers and Courtiers of the Royal Cemetery53403590932000The exact role of the retainers buried with the elites in the Royal Cemetery at Ur has been long debated. Woolley was of the opinion that they were willing sacrifices but later scholars disagree. Recent CT scans and forensic analysis of the skulls of six attendants from different royal tombs show they all died of blunt force trauma. The weapon appears in some cases to have been a bronze battle axe.Whoever it was that ended up buried in Ur's Royal Cemetery alongside clearly royal individuals, and whether they went willingly or not, the last stage of the burial was to adorn the bodies with rich grave goods. This wreath of poplar leaves was worn by an attendant buried in the stone tomb with Queen Puabi; the attendant's skull was one of those examined by Baadsgaard and colleagues.Figure Caption: Wreath of poplar leaves (Length: 40 cm) made of gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian, found with the body of a female attendant crouched at the foot of Queen Puabi's ?bier, Royal Cemetery of Ur, ca 2550 BCE.Living in Sumerian Ur 300164598072000During Ur's heyday, four main residential areas of the city included homes made of baked mud brick foundations arranged along long, narrow, winding streets and alleyways. Typical houses included an open central courtyard with two or more main living rooms in which the families resided. Each house had a domestic room of worship where cult structures and the family burial vault was kept. Kitchens, stairways, workrooms, lavatories were all part of the household structures.left121658600The houses were packed in very tightly together, with exterior walls of one household immediately abutting the next one. Although the cities appear very closed off, the interior courtyards and wide streets provided light, and the close-set houses protected the exposure of the exterior walls to heating especially during the hot summers.A visitor approaching the city would pass ay farmers working in their fields with ox-drawn carts and ploughs. They might then see blacksmiths and tanners at work outside the central areas of the city. On the river there would be barges ferrying a range of goods.Entering the city, the visitor would pass by artisans producing tools, clothes, pottery and other items for everyday use. Further towards the centre of the city and closer to the impressive Ziggurat, more skilled producers would make higher quality items for the nobility, and merchants would trade exotic and valuable items. ................
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