The archaeological ruins of the Mesopotamian capital city of Ur, also known as Tell al-Muqayyar, is located near the modern town of Nasiriya in southern Iraq, on a now-abandoned channel of the Euphrates river. The earliest occupations at Ur date to the Ubaid period of the late 6th millennium BC. By about 3000 BC, Ur covered a total area of 37 acres including early temple sites. Ur reached its maximum size of 54 acres during the Early Dynastic Period of the early 3rd millennium, when Ur was one of the most important capitals of the Sumerian civilization. Ur continued as a minor capital for Sumer and succeeding civilizations, but during the 4th century BC, the Euphrates changed course, and the site was abandoned.
Archaeologists associated with Ur included J.E. Taylor, H.C. Rawlinson, Reginald Campbell Thompson, and Leonard C. Woolley. Woolley's investigations included the excavation of the graves of Queen Puabi and King Meskalamdug.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to Mesopotamia and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Oates, Joan, et al. 2007 Early Mesopotamian urbanism: a new view from the north. Antiquity 81:585-600.
Reade, Julian 2001 Assyrian King-Lists, the Royal Tombs of Ur, and Indus Origins. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 60(1):1-29.
Tinney, Steve 1998 Texts, tablets, and teaching: Scribal education in Nippur and Ur. Expedition 40(2):40-50.
Zettler, Richard L. 1987 Sealings as Artifacts of Institutional Administration in Ancient Mesopotamia. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 39(2):197-240.
Also see the article on the University of Pennsylvania's Royal Treasures of Ur for further information.
