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Coordinates: 32°46′54″N 44°39′53″E / 32.78167°N 44.66472°E / 32.78167; 44.66472
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==Archaeology==
==Archaeology==
⚫
Tell Uqair is a small mound just north of, and in sight of, Tell Ibrahim, the large mound marking the site of ancient [[Kutha]]. It lies about halfway between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The topography consists of two sub-mounds separated by what is apparently the bed of an ancient canal. At maximum the hills are {{convert|6|m}} above the terrain line with many levels having being eroded from the tops. The site has a total area of about 6 hectares. The site of Tell Uqair was excavated during World War II, in 1941 and 1942, by an Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities team led by [[Seton Lloyd]], with [[Taha Baqir]] and Fuad Safar.<ref>Seton Lloyd and F. Safar, "Tell Uqair: Excavations by the Iraq Government Directorate General of Antiquities in 1940 and 1941", in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, v. 2, no. 2, April, pp 131-58, 1943</ref> The buildings and artifacts discovered were primarily from the [[Ubaid period]], the [[Uruk period]], and the [[Jemdet Nasr period]] and included four [[Proto-Cuneiform]] tablets. An Early Dynastic, with a few later inclusions, cemetery was also excavated. The graves contained a variety of grave goods, mostly pottery. In one grave three Gutium seals were found and in another an Akkadian period seal.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/download/104996806/Moon_Upright_Handled_Jars.pdf]J. Moon, "The Distribution of Upright-handled Jars and Stemmed Dishes in the ED. Period", Iraq 44, pp. 39–69, 1982</ref> A sounding was done on Mound B, adjacent to the 1940 excavations pit, by a team from the [[Heidelberg University]] directed by Dr. M. Müller-Karpe in October 1978. Work focused on Early Dynastic I/II houses which were cut by ED III graves. The sounding found occupation down to the water table at 3.5 meters below the surface of the tell.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq, 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 141–81, 1979</ref>
Tell Uqair is a small mound just north of Tell Ibrahim, the large mound marking the site of ancient [[Kutha]]. The topography consists of two sub-mounds separated by what is apparently the bed of an ancient canal. At maximum the hills are {{convert|6|m}} above the terrain line. The site has a total area of about 6 hectares.
⚫
The site of Tell Uqair was excavated during World War II, in 1941 and 1942, by an Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities team led by [[Seton Lloyd]], with [[Taha Baqir]] and Fuad Safar.<ref>Seton Lloyd and F. Safar, "Tell Uqair: Excavations by the Iraq Government Directorate General of Antiquities in 1940 and 1941", in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, v. 2, no. 2, April, pp 131-58, 1943</ref> The buildings and artifacts discovered were primarily from the [[Ubaid period]], the [[Uruk period]], and the [[Jemdet Nasr period]] and included four [[Proto-Cuneiform]] tablets. A sounding was done on Mound B, adjacent to the 1940 excavations pit, by a team from the [[Heidelberg University]] directed by Dr. M. Müller-Karpe in October 1978. Work focused on Early Dynastic I/II houses which were cut by ED III graves. The sounding found occupation down to the water table at 3.5 meters below the surface of the tell.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq, 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 141–81, 1979</ref>


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 18:54, 2 September 2024

Tell Uqair
Urum
Tell Uqair is located in Iraq
Tell Uqair
Shown within Iraq
Alternative nameTell Uquair, Tell Aqair
LocationBabil Governorate, Iraq
RegionMesopotamia
Coordinates32°46′54″N 44°39′53″E / 32.78167°N 44.66472°E / 32.78167; 44.66472
Typetell
Site notes
Excavation dates1941–1942, 1978
ArchaeologistsS. Lloyd, Taha Baqir, F. Safar, M. Müller-Karpe

Tell Uqair (Tell Uquair, Tell Aqair) is a tell or settlement mound northeast of Babylon and about 50 miles (80 km) south of Baghdad in modern Babil Governorate, Iraq.

Archaeology

Tell Uqair is a small mound just north of, and in sight of, Tell Ibrahim, the large mound marking the site of ancient Kutha. It lies about halfway between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The topography consists of two sub-mounds separated by what is apparently the bed of an ancient canal. At maximum the hills are 6 metres (20 ft) above the terrain line with many levels having being eroded from the tops. The site has a total area of about 6 hectares. The site of Tell Uqair was excavated during World War II, in 1941 and 1942, by an Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities team led by Seton Lloyd, with Taha Baqir and Fuad Safar.[1] The buildings and artifacts discovered were primarily from the Ubaid period, the Uruk period, and the Jemdet Nasr period and included four Proto-Cuneiform tablets. An Early Dynastic, with a few later inclusions, cemetery was also excavated. The graves contained a variety of grave goods, mostly pottery. In one grave three Gutium seals were found and in another an Akkadian period seal.[2] A sounding was done on Mound B, adjacent to the 1940 excavations pit, by a team from the Heidelberg University directed by Dr. M. Müller-Karpe in October 1978. Work focused on Early Dynastic I/II houses which were cut by ED III graves. The sounding found occupation down to the water table at 3.5 meters below the surface of the tell.[3]

History

Blau monuments plaque obverse

The site of Tell Uqair first had significant occupation during the Ubaid period, and grew to its greatest extent during the Jemdet Nasr and Uruk periods. Some Early Dynastic graves and a scattering of Akkadian and Babylonian artifacts indicate the location continued in limited use up through the time of Nebuchadnezzar.

The most prominent discovery at Tell Uquair was the "Painted Temple", a large complex similar in design to the "White Temple" found at Uruk.[4] Like that temple it had stepped niches with half columns.[5] Some of the original frescoes were still visible at the time of the excavation and were copied. Several frescoes were recovered intact and sent to the Baghdad Museum. The temple is believed to date to the Uruk or early Jemdet Nasr period. A small adjacent Jemdet Nasr temple was of somewhat later construction and contained large amounts of pottery from that period.[6]

It has been suggested, based on a toponym (ḪA.ÚR.BAR), that the Blau Monuments originated at Tell Uqair.[7]

Urum

Because of clay tablets found at the site and its areal location, Tell Uqair has been proposed as the ancient town of Urum.[8] The toponym for Urum is written in cuneiform as ÚR×Ú.KI (cuneiform: 𒌱𒆠), URUM4 = ÚR×ḪA (cuneiform: 𒌯), besides ÚR×A.ḪA.KI (cuneiform: 𒌬𒆠), from earlier (pre-Ur III) ÚR.A.ḪA.[9]

It is known that during the 3rd millennium BC Urum was a cult site for the god Nanna.[10] It is also known that Urum was between the cities of Kish and Sippar (more specifically between Sippar and Kutha), which fits with Tell Uqair, and that under the Ur III empire one of the ensi2 was one Ur-Sin/Ur-Suena (attested in years 43 and 44 of Shulgi).[11][12] At that time Urum and TiWA/Tiwe, which was known as one of the polities that joined the great rebellion against Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218BC), made up adjacent Ur III provinces.[13] In a text of Naram-Sin, on the pivotal battle in crushing the revolt, he states "In between the cities of TiWA and Urum, in the field of the god Sin, he drew up (battle lines) and awaited battle.".[14] It is known that Urum was the third most province from the north, after Sippar and then Tiwe, of the 19 provinces of Ur III.[15]

The goddess Ningal had a sanctuary at Urum.[16] According to the Sumerian Temple Hymns, the temple of Nanna at Urum was named E-Ablua.[17]

Tulid-Šamši (Šamaš-gave-(me-)birth) was an en-priestess of Nanna at Urum during the reign of Ur III ruler Shu-Sin (c. 2037–2028 BC), known from seals of two servants.[18][19] She is also listed as en dEN.ZU.[20] A Niridagal was general in charge of the troops of Urum and Tiwa (A.HA) in the reign of Amar-Sin (c. 2046–2037BC).[21] A text from the reign of Ibbi-Sin (c. 2028–2004 BC) mentions "when the en of Nanna of Urum was installed" (u4 en-dnanna ÚRxÚ.KI-ka ba-hun-gá).[22]

It has been proposed that in Old Babylonian times the name of Urum was Elip. Elip is known from the year names of Babylonian rulers, Sumu-abum year 2 "Year the city wall of Elip was seized", Apil-Sin year 9 "Year the temple of Inanna in Elip was built", and Hammu-rabi year 17 "Year in which Hammu-rabi the king elevated a statue for Inanna of Elip". The city was the capitol of the still obscure Manana Dynasty which ruled the city of Kish for a time.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Seton Lloyd and F. Safar, "Tell Uqair: Excavations by the Iraq Government Directorate General of Antiquities in 1940 and 1941", in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, v. 2, no. 2, April, pp 131-58, 1943
  2. ^ [1]J. Moon, "The Distribution of Upright-handled Jars and Stemmed Dishes in the ED. Period", Iraq 44, pp. 39–69, 1982
  3. ^ "Excavations in Iraq, 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 141–81, 1979
  4. ^ Abid, Ameer Najim, "The architecture of white temples in the cities of ancient central and southern Mesopotamia (Uruk-Umm Al-Aqarib-Tal Al-Uqair) A comparative study", ISIN Journal 5, pp. 53-79, 2023
  5. ^ Ławecka, Dorota, "Bent or Straight Axis? Temple Plans in Early Dynastic Southern Babylonia", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 104, no. 2, pp. 206-228, 2014
  6. ^ Dermech, S., "The Tell'Uqair temple (4th mill. BC): colours and iconography", In BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum (Vol. 1), 2016
  7. ^ Balke, Thomas E., "The Interplay of Material, Text, and Iconography in Some of the Oldest “Legal” Documents", Materiality of Writing in Early Mesopotamia, edited by Thomas E. Balke and Christina Tsouparopoulou, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016, pp. 73-94, 2016
  8. ^ Robert K. Englund, "Proto-Cuneiform Texts from Diverse Collections", (Materialien Zu Den Fruhen Schriftzeugnissen Des Vorderen Ori), Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-7861-1875-2
  9. ^ Piotr Steinkeller, "On the Reading and Location of the Toponyms ÚR×Ú.KI and A.ḪA.KI", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 23–33, Jan. 1980
  10. ^ Yuhong, Wu, and Stephanie Dalley, "The Origins of the Manana Dynasty at Kish, and the Assyrian King List", Iraq, vol. 52, pp. 159–65, 1990
  11. ^ Sharlach, Tonia. "Princely Employments in the Reign of Shulgi", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-68, 2022
  12. ^ Sallaberger, W., "Ur III-Zeit", in Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit, OBO 160/3, edited by W. Sallaberger, and A. Westenholz, Freiburg: Universitätsverlag, pp. 121–390, 1999
  13. ^ Steinkeller, Piotr. "Two Sargonic Seals from Urusagrig and the Question of Urusagrig’s Location" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 112, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1-10
  14. ^ [2]Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-218, 1993 ISBN 0-8020-0593-4
  15. ^ Sharlach, Tonia, "Provincial Taxation and the Ur III State" CM 26. Leiden: Brill, 2004
  16. ^ Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "N", A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 219-287, 2021
  17. ^ Helle, Sophus, "The Temple Hymns", Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 53-94, 2023
  18. ^ Frayne, Douglas, "Šulgi", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 91-234, 1997
  19. ^ Michalowski, Piotr, "Of Bears and Men: Thoughts on the End of Šulgi’s Reign and on the Ensuing Succession", Literature as Politics, Politics as Literature: Essays on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Peter Machinist, edited by David S. Vanderhooft and Abraham Winitzer, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 285-320, 2013
  20. ^ Stol, Marten, "Priestesses", Women in the Ancient Near East, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 555-583, 2016
  21. ^ Steinkeller, Piotr, "Corvée Labor in Ur III Times", From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.: Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22–24 July 2010, edited by Steven J. Garfinkle and Manuel Molina, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 347-424, 2013
  22. ^ Frayne, Douglas, "Ibbi-Sin", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 361-392, 1997
  23. ^ Charpin, D., "Recherches sur la “dynastie de Mananâ”: Essai de localisation et de chronologie", RA 72, pp. 13–40, 1978
  24. ^ de Boer, Rients, "Two early Old Babylonian "Mananâ" archives dated to the last years of Sumu-la-El", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 111, pp. 25–64, 2017

Further reading

  • Gilbert J. P. McEwan, "The Writing of Urum in Pre-Ur III Sources", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 56, Jan. 1981
  • M. W. Green, "Urum and Uqair", Acta Sumerologica, vol. 8, pp.77–83, 1986
  • Seton Lloyd, "Ur-Al `Ubaid, Uquair and Eridu, in Ur in Retrospect: In Memory of Sir Leonard Woolley", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 23–31, 1960
  • Lloyd, Seton, "Ur—Al ‘Ubaid,‘Uqair and Eridu: An Interpretation of Some Evidence from The Flood-Pit", Iraq 22.1-2, pp. 23-31, 1960
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