Ur (Sumerian:urim ; Akkadian:?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland. Currently, Ur is south of the Euphrates on its right bank, 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) from Nasiriyah, Iraq and close to the site of ancient Eridu.
The site is marked by the ruins of a ziggurat, still largely intact, and by settlement mounds. The ziggurat of Ur was a temple of Nanna, the moon deity in Sumerian mythology, and has two stages constructed from brick: in the lower stage the bricks are joined together with bitumen, in the upper stage they are joined with mortar. The temple was built in 2100 B.C. during the reign of Ur-Nammu. The temple stands 70 feet (21 m) high.
Ur was inhabited in the earliest stage of village settlement in southern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period. However, it later appears to have been abandoned for a time. Scholars believe that, as the climate changed from relatively damp to drought in the early 3rd millennium BC, the small farming villages of the Ubaid culture consolidated into larger settlements, arising from the need for large-scale, centralized irrigation works to survive the dry spells. Ur became one such center, and by around 2600 BC, in the Sumerian Early Dynastic Period III, the city was again thriving. Ur by this time was considered sacred to the god called Nanna (Sumerian) or Sin (Akkadian).Biblical Ur
Ur is considered by many to be the city of Ur Kasdim mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the birthplace of the patriarch Abram (Abraham).
Ur is mentioned four times in the Tanakh or Old Testament, with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin"—traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees", referring to the Chaldeans, who were already settled there by around 900 BC. The name is found in Genesis 11:28, Genesis 11:31, and Genesis 15:7. In Nehemiah 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of Genesis. (Nehemiah 9:7)
The Book of Jubilees states that Ur was founded in 1688 Anno Mundi (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably the offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year wars began on Earth.
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"And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father." (i.e., Ur Kesdim) (Jubilees 11:3).
Some of the areas that were cleared during modern excavations have sanded over again.
The Great Ziggurat is fully cleared and stands as the best-preserved and only major structure on the site. The top is covered with debris and is at times a confusing mix of loose stones, broken pottery and partial reconstruction.
The famous Royal tombs, also called the Neo-Sumerian Mausolea, located about 250 metres (820 ft) south-east of the Great Ziggurat in the corner of the wall that surrounds the city, is nearly totally cleared. Parts of the tomb area appear to be in need of structural consolidation or stabilization.
There are cuneiform (Sumerian writing) on many walls, some entirely covered in script stamped into the mud-bricks. The text is sometimes difficult to read, but it covers most surfaces.
Modern graffiti has also found its way to the graves, usually in the form of names made with coloured pens (sometimes they are carved). The Great Ziggurat itself has far more graffiti, mostly lightly carved into the bricks.
The graves are completely empty. A small number of the tombs are accessible. Most of them have been cordoned off.
The whole site is covered with pottery debris, to the extent that it is virtually impossible to set foot anywhere without stepping on some. Some have colours and paintings on them. Some of the "mountains" of broken pottery are debris that has been removed from excavations.
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