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Ziggurat of Ur

The Ziggurat of Ur (sometimes called the “GreatZiggurat of Ur"; Sumerian E-temen-nigur(u)É.TEMEN.NÍ.GÙR(U).(RU) ( ) [1] meaning"house whose foundation creates terror")[2] is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city of Ur nearNasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq. Thestructure was built during the Early Bronze Age (21stcentury BC), but had crumbled to ruins by the 6thcentury BC of the Neo-Babylonian period when it wasrestored by King Nabonidus.

Its remains were excavated in the 1920s and 1930s bySir Leonard Woolley. Under Saddam Hussein in the1980s, they were encased by a partial reconstruction ofthe façade and the monumental staircase. The zigguratof Ur is the best-preserved of those known from Iran andIraq, besides the ziggurat of Dur Untash (Chogha Zan-bil).[3] It is one of three well preserved structures of theNeo-Sumerian city of Ur, along with the Royal Mausoleaand the Palace of Ur-Nammu (the E-hursag).

1 Sumerian ziggurat

Reconstruction of Ur-Nammu’s ziggurat, based on the 1939 re-construction by Woolley (vol. V, g. 1.4)

The ziggurat was built by King Ur-Nammu who dedi-cated the great ziggurat of Ur in honour of Nanna/Sîn,in approximately the 21st century BC (short chronology)during theThird Dynasty of Ur.[2] The massivesteppyra-mid measured 64 m (210 ft) in length, 45 m (148 ft) inwidth and over 30 m (98 ft) in height. The height is spec-ulative, as only the foundations of the Sumerian ziggurat

have survived.The ziggurat was a piece in a temple complex that servedas an administrative center for the city, and which was a

shrine of the moon god Nanna, the patron deity of Ur.[4]

The construction of the ziggurat was nished in the 21stcentury BC by King Shulgi, who, in order to win the al-legiance of cities, proclaimed himself a god. During his48-year reign, the city of Ur grew to be the capital of astate controlling much of Mesopotamia. Many zigguratswere made by stacking mud-bricks up and using mud toseal them together.

2 Neo-Babylonian restoration

King Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-BabylonianEmpire in the 6th century BC, after “nding little left butthe last stage and nothing to guide him as to the mon-ument’s original appearance”, had it restored in sevenstages rather than three.[5]

3 Excavation and preservation

U.S. soldiers climb the steps of the ziggurat in 2010

The remains of the ziggurat were rst described byWilliam Kennett Loftus in the early 19th century. Therst excavations at the site were conducted by JohnGeorge Taylor (mistakenly credited as “J. E. Taylor”)[6]in the 1850s, leading to the identication of the site asUr. After World War I, preliminary excavations wereperformed by Reginald Campbell Thompson and HenryHall. The site was extensively excavated in the 1920s bySir Leonard Woolley by appointment of the University

Museumof theUniversity of PennsylvaniaandtheBritishMuseum in the period of 1922 to 1934.The remains of the ziggurat consist of a three-layered

1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Woolleyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hall_(Egyptologist)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hall_(Egyptologist)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Campbell_Thompsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_George_Taylorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_George_Taylorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kennett_Loftushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Babylonian_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Babylonian_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kings_of_Babylonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabonidushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shulgihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_(mythology)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_deityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_pyramidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_pyramidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Dynasty_of_Urhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_chronology_timelinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Nammuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chogha_Zanbilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chogha_Zanbilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Husseinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Woolleyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabonidushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Babylonianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhi_Qar_Governoratehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasiriyahhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Sumerianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Sumerianhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%92%89%8Ehttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%92%8B%BChttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%92%82%8Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89_(temple)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_language

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2 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

solid mass of mud brick faced with burnt bricks set in bi-tumen. The lowest layer corresponds to the original con-struction of Ur-Nammu, while the two upper layers arepart of the Neo-Babylonian restorations.[7] The façade ofthelowest level andthemonumental staircase were rebuiltunder the orders of Saddam Hussein.The ziggurat was damaged in the First Gulf War in 1991by small arms re and the structure was shaken by explo-sions. Four bomb craters canbe seen nearby andthewallsof the ziggurat are marred by over 400 bullet holes. [8]

As of 2008, the site is under the supervision of CuratorDief Mohssein Naiif al-Gizzy.

4 See also

• Ali Air Base

• Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum

• Sumer

• Sumerian architecture

• Third Dynasty of Ur

• Ziggurat

• Ziggurat of Aqar Quf

5 References

[1] JacobKleinThree Šulgihymns: Sumerianroyal hymns glo-rifying King Šulgi of Ur , Bar-Ilan University Press (1981),ISBN 978-965-226-018-5, p. 162.

[2] Explore the ziggurat of Ur, The Ziggurat of Ur, TheBritish Museum

[3] Heinrich, Ernst: Die Tempel und Heiligtümer im AltenMesopotamien. Typologie, Morphologie und Geschichte,

Berlin (1982)[4] Gardner’s Art Through the Ages by Helen Gardner, Fred

S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya

[5] Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Rober M.; La Boda, Sharon. Inter-national Dictionary of Historic Places. p. 719. ISBN 1-884964-03-6.

[6] E. Sollberger, Mr. Taylor in Chaldaea, Anatolian Studies(1972)

[7] Woolley, C. Leonard (1939). The Ziggurat and its Sur-roundings. Ur Excavations 5.

[8] Inati, S. C. 2003: Iraq: Its History, People and Politics,New York: Humanity Books, p31

6 Further reading

• Woolley, C. Leonard and Moorey, P. R. S., Ur of the Chaldees: Revised and Updated Edition of Sir Leonard Woolley’s Excavations at Ur , Cornell Uni-versity Press (1982).

7 External links

• Ziggurat of Ur, Smarthistory at Khan Academy

• Ur (modern name: Tell el-Muqayyar) at Open Con-text

• A brief history of the Sumerian Ziggurat at Ur

• Archaeology of ancient Iraq with a section on the zig- gurat

• TheHarranandUrLatitudes, andTell Göbekli Tepe

http://www.jqjacobs.net/blog/http://www.islamonline.net/english/In_Depth/Iraq_Aftermath/2003/07/article_02.shtmlhttp://www.islamonline.net/english/In_Depth/Iraq_Aftermath/2003/07/article_02.shtmlhttp://www.amazeingart.com/seven-wonders/ziggurat.htmlhttp://opencontext.org/subjects/GHF1SPA0000077843https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Academyhttp://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ziggurat-of-ur.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-884964-03-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-884964-03-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/explore/zig.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789652260185https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat_of_Aqar_Qufhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Dynasty_of_Urhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_architecturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennigaldi-Nanna%2527s_museumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Air_Basehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Gulf_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein

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8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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