The Ancient Sumerian City of Ur, Iraq: November 5, 2025

The drive from Najaf to Nasiriyah was about 4.5 hours. We had lunch, checked into our room at the Somerion Hotel, and then set out to visit the ancient city of Ur. The city of Ur was inhabited for more than 5,000 years by diverse cultures beginning in approximately 5500 BCE with the prehistoric Ubaids and ending with the Achaemenid Persians in 331 BCE.

Our first stop in Ur was at the impressive multi-stepped ziggurat pedestal. It is built of mud with a facade of bricks and bitumen. It was constructed in 2113-2095 BCE. The upper temple, which is mostly missing, was dedicated to worship Nanna, the Moon God, the main God of Ur. In addition to Nanna, Enki (God of Water & Wisdom), and Goddess Nin-Gal (The Great Lady, Wife of Nanna) were also worshipped in Ur.

Ur was abandoned in approximately 300 BCE because the Euphrates River had meandered too far from the city. Sand engulfed the remnants of the brick city and it lay buried for more than 2,000 years.

The Wandering Earl Team: Jennifer, Derek, Mahdi, Moemel, and Noor

The Dublal-Makh Temple (above) was most likely constructed during the third dynasty of Ur (2112 - 2004 BCE). It has been utilized for many purposes. It was a gateway to the ziggurat, a storehouse for tablets, a law court, and after the end of the third dynasty, it was both a shrine and a law court. The preserved arched doorway of the Dublal-Makh Temple dates back to the time of Kurigalzu (1400 BCE) and is one of the oldest standing true arches known. An interesting aesthetic was that the base of the extended building had curved edges.

Although fenced and off limits one of the richest cemeteries in ancient Iraq was discovered by Leonard Woolley in 1926-1933 in a joint mission of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The following information was taken from the sign at the Royal Cemetery:

The excavation found thousands of graves, 16 of which were deemed royal due to the great wealth buried within. These tombs also contained the remains of many people who were apparently sacrificed servants that went to the afterlife with their king or queen. The royal tombs and the private graves nearby dated from the Early Dynastic III period (2600-2350 BCE). Most of the royal tombs had been looted in antiquity. One of the only royal tombs found unlooted contained a woman named Puabi, whose cylinder seal bore the title Eresh (queen). She wore more than 2 kg of gold and precious stones on her head and another 3 kg on her body.

Most of the royal graves consisted of a brick-built tomb surrounded by an area that Woolley called a "death pit" because the pit contained corpses of soldiers, servants, and musicians in their finery. These people either killed themselves or were put to death to continue as servants to the royals in the afterlife. The death pits of the royal cemetery are the only evidence of human sacrifice in Mesopotamia and it occurred only in the period around 2500-2400 BCE.

In March 2021 Pope Francis visited the ancient city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. We were allowed to walk through an area, normally off limits, that is a series of connected rooms where the House of Abraham is thought to have been located.

The gold embellished and perhaps inspirational lobby of the Somerion Hotel.