Tell al-'Ubaid

Tell al-'Ubaid (Arabic: العبيد) is a low, relatively small tell (settlement mound) west of nearby Ur in southern Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. The majority of the remains are from the Chalcolithic Ubaid period, for which Tell al-'Ubaid is the type site, with an Early Dynastic temple and cemetery at the highest point. It was a cult center for the goddess Ninhursag.[1]

Tell al-'Ubaid
العبيد
Tell al-'Ubaid is located in Iraq
Tell al-'Ubaid
Shown within Iraq
Tell al-'Ubaid is located in Near East
Tell al-'Ubaid
Tell al-'Ubaid (Near East)
LocationDhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
RegionLower Mesopotamia
Coordinates30°58′12″N 46°1′32″E
Typetell, type site
Length350 metre
Width250 metre
Height2 metre
History
PeriodsEarly Dynastic period, Ubaid period, Jemdet Nasr period, Ur III period
Site notes
Excavation dates1919; 1923; 1924; 1937
ArchaeologistsHenry Hall, Leonard Woolley, Pinhas Pierre Delougaz, Seton Lloyd

History of archaeological research

The site was first worked by Henry Hall of the British Museum in 1919.[2] He found an Early Dynastic III stone statue of Kurlil.[3] Later, C. L. Woolley excavated there in 1923 and 1924,[4] followed by Seton Lloyd and Pinhas Delougaz in 1937, the latter working for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.[5][6]

Tell al-'Ubaid and its environment

Today, Tell al-'Ubaid lies 250 kilometres (160 mi) from the Persian Gulf, but the shoreline lay much closer to the site during the Ubaid period. The tell, or settlement mound, is an oblong measuring approximately 500 by 300 metres (1,640 ft × 980 ft) on a roughly north-south axis. It extends about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) above the current surface. The excavated Early Dynastic temple of Ninḫursaĝ, A-Ane-pada, is located on the northern edge of the site. Finds included a copper framed frieze of limestone birds set in a black shale background.[7] The temple was also worked on in the Ur III period.[8][9] A cemetery was also found with 96 graves, mostly from the Early Dynastic Period.[10]

Occupation history

The lower level of the site featured large amounts of Ubaid pottery and associated kilns. Evidence for Ubaid period pottery manufacture has also been observed on the surface of the site. The size of the surface scatter indicates that pottery production was a specialized craft, and this confirms finds from other Ubaid sites like Eridu.[8] The site also yielded a cemetery and some finds from the Jemdet Nasr period. The temple of Ninhursag at the summit was on a cleared oval similar to that at Khafajah. The wall surrounding the temple was built by Shulgi of the Ur III Empire.

  • Stone statue of Kurlil, Early Dynastic III, 2500 BC Tell Al-'Ubaid
    Stone statue of Kurlil, Early Dynastic III, 2500 BC Tell Al-'Ubaid
  • Parts of mosaic columns from the entrance to the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum
    Parts of mosaic columns from the entrance to the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum
  • Recumbent cow, part of a frieze once decorated the facade of the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum
    Recumbent cow, part of a frieze once decorated the facade of the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum
  • Sumerian scene, milking cows and making dairy products. From the facade of the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum
    Sumerian scene, milking cows and making dairy products. From the facade of the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tell Al-Ubaid.

References
  1. 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, 2021, pp. 219-287
  2. H. R. Hall, Season's Work at Ur; Al-'Ubaid, Abu Shahrain (Eridu), and Elsewhere; Being an Unofficial Account of the British Museum Archaeological Mission to Babylonia, 1919, Methuen, 1930
  3. Reade, Julian. "Early monuments in Gulf stone at the British Museum, with observations on some Gudea statues and the location of Agade" , vol. 92, no. 2, 2002, pp. 258-295
  4. Hall, H. R.; Woolley, C. L. (1927). UR Excavations Volume I Al-'Ubaid. Oxford University Press.
  5. Delougaz, P. (1938). "A Short Investigation of the Temple at Al-'Ubaid". Iraq. 5: 1–11. doi:10.2307/4241617.
  6. Seton Lloyd, Ur-al 'Ubaid, 'Uqair and Eridu. An Interpretation of Some Evidence from the Flood-Pit, Iraq, ol. 22, Ur in Retrospect. In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley, pp. 23-31, (Spring - Autumn, 1960)
  7. Paszke, Marcin Z., "Bird species diversity in 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamia: The case of the Al-Ubaid bird frieze from the Temple of Nin", Bioarchaeology of the Near East 15, pp. 25-54, 2021
  8. Moore, A.M.T. (2002). "Pottery Kiln Sites at al 'Ubaid and Eridu". Iraq. 64: 69–77. JSTOR 4200519.
  9. Clayden, Tim. “KASSITE HOUSING AT UR: THE DATES OF THE EM, YC, XNCF, AH AND KPS HOUSES.” Iraq, vol. 76, 2014, pp. 19–64
  10. Harriet P. Martin, The Early Dynastic Cemetery at al-'Ubaid, a Re-Evaluation, Iraq, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 145-185, 1982
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