Who Was Buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur?

For regular videos on ancient cultures and forgotten civilizations, please subscribe. The royal tombs unearthed by Leonard Woolley at Ur stand out because of the amazing collection of artifacts that were found in them, and because they are the only known cases of collective burial in the Sumerian world. Yet they pose mysteries and present unique challenges to those who study them due to the disturbance of their contents, unusual skeletal remains, and limited textual evidence regarding the occupants' identities. So today we are going to look at the questions surrounding the Royal Tombs of Ur. The once great city of Ur, which flourished from the days of the Sumerians down to the days of the Persians, some 3,000 years, was ultimately abandoned and left to the elements for another 2500 years after that. The coastline has shifted, so while it originally sat on the edge of the gulf, it is now inland, just south of the Euphrates River. Over the centuries, the desert sands and floodwaters buried the structures of Ur, with only the peak of the ziggurat sticking out. Local people visited the site sporadically until modern archaeological investigation began with the work of the British Vice Consul John George Taylor in 1853. Taylor surveyed and wrote descriptions of the site. In 1919, British Egyptologist Harry Reginald Hall conducted a brief excavation. But the most extensive and systematic excavations at Ur were led by British archaeologist Charles Leonard Woolley starting in 1922. Over twelve seasons, Woolley and his team uncovered significant portions of the site, but what garnered the most attention was his discovery of a cemetery containing approximately 1,850 intact burials spread across a large area located below the southeast corner of old King Nebuchadnezzar's temenos, that’s an enclosed sacred area, and partly extending beyond the temenos’s enclosure wall. Woolley speculated that the actual number of burials in the vicinity might have been two to three times higher than the ones found. Woolley's detailed publications and field notes has proven helpful and provide invaluable insights into the ancient culture of Ur, focusing on the city’s religious practices, burial customs, and daily life. But later work has proved valuable too. In 2013 archaeological activities resumed at Ur, as a joint Iraqi-American team revisited previously excavated areas, searching for overlooked artifacts. They extended Woolley's original pits, and their work, which lasted until 2019, provided valuable data for further research. Woolley assigned 660 burials to the Early Dynastic Royal Cemetery, with the majority being simple inhumations. But among these burials, 16 stood out for their wealth, distinctive structures, and evidence of rituals. The royal tombs featured a vaulted or domed stone tomb chamber at the base of a deep pit, accessible by a ramp. Woolley speculated that although there were no visible markings, the tombs would have likely been signified on the surface with some form of chapel or marker. The central body, often accompanied by a significant number of goods, including sleds or wheeled vehicles drawn by animals, was interred in the chamber. Personal and household attendants were also buried in the tomb chamber with the deceased ruler and in the surrounding pit, also termed the "great death pit." Woolley describes the abundance of rich artifacts that signified their elevated position, equipping them for the journey beyond, which included notable items such as the golden dagger and sound-box mosaics. Among these valuable possessions were two statuettes portraying a male goat with its forelegs resting on a tree, crafted in gold and lapis lazuli, a lyre embellished with a golden bull's head, gold and silver vessels, exquisite jewelry made from precious metals and semi-precious stones, a diadem adorned with golden leaves and rosettes, alongside other accouterments like helmets, weapons, and various war-gear. While the presence of wheeled vehicles in some tomb-pits was not initially emphasized by Woolley as a definitive royal attribute, other scholars have viewed it as a marker of royalty. The royal tombs of the Ur dynasty uncovered an active foreign trade network involving various materials. These findings suggested a prosperous trading environment, with Carnelian likely sourced from regions like the Indus or Iran, Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan, silver from Turkey, copper from Oman, and gold from locations including Egypt, Nubia, Turkey, or Iran. Despite some shared features, the layout and structure of the 16 royal tombs exhibit distinct designs. Moorey's classification divides them into two categories: those with identifiable tomb chambers and those solely containing death pits. The occupants of the “royal” tombs have sparked debates regarding their identities, with some scholars suggesting they were kings and queens, while others proposing they were priests and priestesses. The entourage buried alongside the principal occupant raises questions about their identities and roles. One gravesite detailed includes soldiers wearing copper helmets and carrying spears positioned at the grave's entrance, court ladies adorned with elaborate golden head-dresses near the tomb chamber's end, and at the forefront, two heavy four-wheeled carts with three bullocks harnessed to each, with the driver's remains within the carts, and grooms situated by the animals' heads. Woolley's account reveals a startling aspect of these burials—the presence of attendants and sacrificial offerings. In Woolley's documented words, he recounts, "The burial of the kings was accompanied by human sacrifice on a lavish scale, the bottom of the grave-pit being crowded with the bodies of men and women who seemed to have been brought down here and butchered where they stood." This chilling description illustrates the grim reality of human sacrifice surrounding these royal interments. One gravesite detailed includes soldiers wearing copper helmets and carrying spears positioned at the grave's entrance, court ladies adorned with elaborate golden head-dresses near the tomb chamber's end, and at the forefront, two heavy four-wheeled carts with three bullocks harnessed to each, with the driver's remains within the carts, and grooms situated by the animals' heads. Due to the widespread attention Woolley's excavation work received, particularly as he progressively disclosed the details of the sixteen burials distinguished by sacrificial offerings, there was intense speculation about the underlying purpose of this remarkable ritual practice, previously unrecognized in ancient Mesopotamia, wherein a significant number of individuals had been sacrificed. Woolley consistently maintained that these burials belonged to true kings and queens of Ur, revered as divine or semi-divine entities, whose household members were sacrificed upon their demise. An alternative theory suggested that these were not standard royal tombs, but that these were priests and priestesses who were ceremonially sacrificed following their portrayal of the principal deities of Ur in a symbolic 'Sacred Marriage Ceremony,' considered pivotal for the annual fertility of the land. Some scholars introduced another perspective suggesting that the participants were substitute rulers who were sacrificially slaughtered along with their entourage after a short reign. We know this practice existed in later times. However, the notion of substitute rulers, derived from later Assyrian textual sources, and the 'Sacred Marriage' theory, which typically involves dual burials, did not align entirely with Woolley's findings, which did not feature extensive double burials. It seemed improbable that the woman Puabi, aged around forty at the time of death, would have played a prominent role in a Sacred Marriage ceremony – except, perhaps, in earlier stages of her life. The artifacts found within the tombs, including offerings of considerable wealth, have led to inquiries about their symbolic meanings, social status indicators, and the intended recipients—whether they were for the deceased individuals themselves or deities. Additionally, the tomb architecture variations and discrepancies point to differential status and societal hierarchy, making interpretation anything but simple. But recent evidence pertaining to burial practices discovered after Woolley's excavations has largely affirmed his belief that the primary individuals in both the Royal Tombs and standard graves were individuals who passed away under normal circumstances. This straightforward explanation aligns with the entirety of the cemetery's layout and the types of bodies, burials, and grave goods present. Keep in mind that the nature of the ruling authority and ceremonial rituals of Ur at this time remain largely unknown, so some have pointed out the scarcity of information in this regard should make us hesitate to declare the occupants of the Royal Tombs "kings". Nevertheless, the presence of female occupants identified as queens or potentially designated with royal titles, or with ties to rulers in select Royal Tombs, suggests a plausible notion that the male principal occupants might have held royal status. The existence of kings of Ur is not in dispute, irrespective of the complexities in the relationships between the royal family and the priesthood. This is for those of you who enjoy watching the Antiquities Travel Guide, the series in which I show you the wonders of the ancient world by actually going to the places and examining the ruins, the artifacts, and the history of those places. This time I am offering to take you with me. That’s right. You can come with me to watch us film the series. As you may know, in Season 3, we visited Egypt, but we only traveled through the northern half of the country. There is still so much yet to see there, so this November we will be going back to explore the southern half of the country. What's on the agenda? We will, naturally, be visiting some of the well-known sites such as Abu Simbel, where Ramesses the Great built some eye-popping temples.We’ll be going to Karnak, the center of Egyptian religion during its empire period. We’ll visit the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs were entombed, Deir el Medina, where the famous temple of Hatshepsut can be found, Medinet Habu, where the temple of Ramesses III is, featuring depictions of the Sea Peoples, Luxor Temple, with its massive statues and Avenue of the Sphinxes. We’ll see the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Queens, the Tombs of the Nobles, Edfu temple, Dendera temple, Philae temple, the Isis temple, Kom Ombo, the temple of Khnum, Aswan quarry, where the Unfinished Obelisk is But I also want to take you to some places that are off the main tourist routes a bit. The temples of Wadi es-Sebua, Amada, Kalabsha, and the ruins on Elephantine Island. The necropolises of El Kab, El Tod, and Dra’ Abu El-Naga, and the ancient rock quarries of Sehel Island and Gebel el-Silsila. In addition, we are including special private tours of two sites. The first is the Osireon at Abydos, and the other is Nekhen. This site hardly ever gets visited, but it is the site of the first known city in Egypt So come along and join the fun. We’d love to have you with us. I don’t know if I will ever offer this tour again, so this is a special opportunity. While information on the male figures interred in Ur's Early Dynastic cemetery remains scarce, plentiful and well-preserved evidence for royal women emerged from the preserved tomb chambers of PG 800 and PG 1054. The female inhabitant of PG 800, adorned extravagantly and bearing the name Puabi or Puabum, signifies a richly attired queen, with her royal title inscribed on a cylinder seal. Similarly, the primary female burial of PG 1054, Body C, flaunted opulent gold ornaments but lacked an accompanying inscription. Their luxurious ornamentation, elaborate attire, and central positioning within the main tomb chamber indicate their royal stature and establish the existence of specific fashion norms for elite women in Early Dynastic society. Another high-ranking woman, identified as Body 61 from PG 1237, showcases a similar style of hair and body ornaments, hinting at royal connections despite the absence of explicit identification. One of the key areas of inquiry revolves around the chronology of the burials and who exactly is buried in them. Woolley linked the cemetery's later burials to the period of Sargon of Akkad based on inscribed cylinder seals discovered in two of the graves. Yeah, that’s the later stuff. These seals referenced officials of Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon. While Woolley initially assigned fifteen graves to the preceding Second Dynasty of Ur, because they shared characteristics of both earlier and later burials, subsequent analyses of the artifacts suggested these burials are also Akkadian in date or even more recent. One feature of the site that has helped with the dating of the earlier material is the Seal Impression Strata. You see, the burials were originally dug into uneven terrain that sloped down towards the northeast and southeast. Distinct layers of debris, varying in thickness and composition, separated an earlier set of burials from a later set. The debris appears to be evidence of the dumping of administrative material probably thrown out from an important building. It is mostly gray and composed of decomposed mud bricks, occasionally containing pottery or a mix of pottery, brick rubble, and lime. These debris layers in the cemetery were termed by Woolley "Seal Impression Strata" (SIS for short) due to the abundance of clay sealings discovered within them, and they were numbered 1 to 8. But keep in mind that these strata were sloping down and forming the material into which the graves were dug, so these are vertical layers as much as horizontal ones. So the timeline for the royal graves was determined through seal impressions and tablets found within the layers of debris. Archaic tablets and seal impressions from SIS 8-5 dated to the first part of the Early Dynastic period (Early Dynastic I, as it’s called). The upper S.I.S. 2-1 contained inscriptions referring to the 'First Dynasty of Ur' from Sumerian historical records (that’s Early Dynastic III). Concerning the relative chronology of the burials, Woolley acknowledged challenges in utilizing absolute elevations due to the uneven ground. The cemetery's layout featured numerous overlapping burials, with later burials frequently intersecting or disturbing previous ones. Woolley's methodology involved grouping burials with more than five entombments to establish a developmental sequence based on artifact assemblages such as pottery, stone and metal vessels, and tools. While Woolley's approach appeared robust, unresolved questions remain regarding the sequencing and dating of these diverse burials within the cemetery. But more recent work has helped us to be more precise. Using calibrated Carbon-14 dating and textual evidence from Mesopotamia, the levels housing the royal tombs are now estimated to fall roughly within the time frame of 2600 to 2500 BCE. This era, recognized in archaeology as Early Dynastic IIIA or the 'Fara period,' marked a critical phase when contemporary written records provided valuable insights into the structure, culture, and notable figures of Sumerian society. Additionally, the presence of a lapis lazuli cylinder seal belonging to Ninbanda, the queen and wife of Mesannepada, along with seals naming Mesannepada as the king of Kish and Ninbanda as the queen, provided time brackets for these burials. Mesannepada, identified as the first king of the First Dynasty of Ur, is thought to have been a contemporary of Eannatum, the third king of the Lagash dynasty. Hence, the graves earlier than his could be attributed to the period traditionally referred to as Early Dynastic IIIA. It is believed that the people buried in these tombs are from the “First Dynasty of Ur.” What’s that? Well, it is a dynasty mentioned in the Sumerian King List. The pertinent section of the Sumerian King List says this. We are picking up where the First Dynasty of Uruk, another city, ends: "Uruk with weapons was struck down, the kingship to Ur was carried off. In Ur Mesannepada was king, 80 years he ruled; Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna, son of Mesannepada, was king, 36 years he ruled; Elulu, 25 years he ruled; Balulu, 36 years he ruled; 4 kings, the years: 171 they ruled [they seem to have added wrong].” The King List says that Lugal-kitun, the final ruler of the First Dynasty of Uruk, was overthrown by Mesannepada of Ur, and that including him there were four kings in the First Dynasty of Ur: Mesannepada, Meskiangnanna, Elulu, and Balulu. Well, the tombs at Ur are positioned beneath a rubbish stratum that contained a seal with the name of Mesanepada, the presumed founder of the First Dynasty of Ur. It was not his tomb, just a seal. But this was interpreted by Woolley as evidence that the tombs, all categorized as Early Dynastic III, predate Mesanepada. However, despite Woolley's clear explanation, the evidence remains inconclusive. The rubbish may have originated from a neighboring building during remodeling or reconstruction activities. It is possible that some of the tombs postdate Mesanepada, though most people do not assume this to be the case. But you might say, well, how can they predate Mesanepada, if he was the first king? Ah, well, just because he was the first king listed in the King List, this does not necessarily mean he was the first king of the dynasty. The King List is saying how the First Dynasty of Ur took over as the preeminent dynasty after defeating the First Dynasty of Uruk. Mesanepada was the king who did this. But he may have been ruling for some time before this, and he may have had ancestors who also ruled. And we know of two other kings earlier than Mesanepada. Other sources tell us about them. A king named Meskalamdug and another named Akalamdug. According to the inscription found on a bead in Mari, it would seem that Mesanepada was the son of Meskalamdug. And we found other names here at Ur too. This means that only the final four kings of the dynasty are named in the Sumerian King List. Anyway, the royal tombs of Ur are believed to be from the First Dynasty of Ur, but from before Mesanepada. As indicated by the carbon dating, they fall within an estimated century timespan: 2600-2500 BCE. The Royal Tombs seem to form a reasonably cohesive group, and it is generally agreed that tombs 777, 779, and 1236 are the earliest, 1054 is in the middle, and 789, 800, and 1237 are later ones, relatively speaking. They are all still presumed to be before Mesanepada. Let’s talk about the earliest ones. PG 1236 seems to be the earliest, and in fact, the largest stone tomb. It has multiple burials in it. A limestone seal was found in it with the ruler’s name. A’Imdugud, "Son of the Storm-god," it reads. No titles, though, to confirm he was a king. The imagery seems to be royal in nature though. PG 779 is similar to PG 1236, but a little smaller and a little later. This is the tomb in which the Standard of Ur was found. It’s been suggested that this tomb belonged to a king named Urpabilsag. An inscription bearing his name was found in the area, but not in this tomb. So this is not a definite identification. PG 777 is right next to 779 and appears to have a close relationship with it. A diadem found in the tomb is similar to one owned by queen Puabi of PG 800, so it is speculated that this tomb belonged to Urpabilsag’s wife. Slightly later in time is PG 755, and we know this because it was dug into the side of the shaft of PG 779. As one of the most opulent graves, PG. 755 was exceptional but it lacks human sacrifices or unique architecture like the other royal tombs. So this has led to ongoing debates challenging its classification. It contained one coffin, and the body inside it was a male under thirty years old. Woolley suggested he might have been a prince rather than a king. But the tomb was full of many goods, including four vessels, one copper and three gold, that were inscribed with the name Meskalamdug. As I mentioned before, we knew of a king by this name from another artifact found elsewhere. There also was a copper vessel inscribed with the name "Ninbanda the Queen." Ninbanda was the name of a wife of Mesanepada, but perhaps it was a common name in the family. Because the occupant of this tomb was young and had no attendants, then it may be that the inscriptions are referring to his mother and father. In other words, he would be the son of Meskalamdug. Tomb PG 1054, which is from the same time, is that of a woman, and it appears to be that of Ninbanda herself. A seal of Meskalamdug was found here too, and Woolley speculated that the occupant of this tomb was his wife. But what about Meskalamdug himself? Have they found his tomb? Well PG 789, sometimes called “the King’s Grave,” is an important one. It is a stone chamber and connected with PG 800, Puabi’s tomb. It is generally agreed that the PG 789/800 complex is relatively late in the main sequence of Royal Tombs. The obvious choices for who could have been in this tomb are Meskalamdug and Mesanepada. But there is no positive identification. Who was Puabi’s husband? Some people think that Puabi was Meskalumdug’s second wife. Throughout the scholarly discourse on the Royal Tombs of Ur, continual scrutiny and reinterpretation underscore the complexities and uncertainties of the archaeological record. While the study of these tombs sheds light on ancient Mesopotamian life and rituals, it also highlights the difficulties inherent in archaeological research. The more missing pieces there are to a puzzle the more difficult it is to reconstruct. So these tombs and this captivating part of Sumerian history encourage further research. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up. 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