The Joint Expedition to Ur

Originally Published in 1930

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A REPORT just received from Mr. Woolley announces the discovery of a royal burial of a poorer sort, yielding, however, a gold-mounted electrum dagger, and the remains of a wig to which were attached gold earrings and a gold frontlet. Another surprising discovery was that of four bulls’ hooves, life size, originally hammered over wood, proof of sculpture in metal on a big scale at a period much earlier than that of the royal tombs.

Work on the prehistoric town site continues, eight layers of buildings now having been uncovered, and the abundant pottery therefrom enables Mr. Woolley to proceed in his immensely important task of establishing a definite chronology for the city of Ur. Little can be expected in the way of art from this phase of the excavations, yet unexpected rewards of such a nature do appear, and the oldest piece of sculpture yet found is a steatite statuette of a wild boar, in perfect condition, and of an artistic development equal to that of the objects from the royal tombs themselves.

Cite This Article

"The Joint Expedition to Ur." Museum Bulletin I, no. 3 (March, 1930): 6-6. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.penn.museum/sites/bulletin/221/


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