Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Ur shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Ur offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Ur at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Ur? Wrong! If the Ur is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Ur then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Ur? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Ur and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Ur wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Ur then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Ur site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Ur, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Ur, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

in the background, January 17 2004

Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the mouth (at the time) of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. It is considered to be one of the earliest known civilizations in History of the world. Because of marine regression (geology), the remains are now well inland in present-day Iraq, south of the Euphrates on its right bank, and named Tell el-Mukayyar Tell el-Mukayyar – in Arabic language Tell means "mound" and Mukayyar means "built of bitumen". Mukayyar is variously transcribed as Mugheir, Mughair, Moghair, Muqayyar etc., near the city of Nasiriyah south of Baghdad.

The site is marked by the ruins of a ziggurat (right), still largely intact, and by a settlement mound. The ziggurat is a temple of Nanna (Sumerian deity), the Lunar_deity in Mesopotamian mythology, and has two stages constructed from brick: in the lower stage the bricks are joined together with bitumen, in the upper stage they are joined with Mortar (masonry). The Sumerian name for this city was Urim.S. M. Kramer, The Sumerians, Their History, Culture, and Character, University of Chicago Press, 1963, pages 28 and 298

History Ur was inhabited in the earliest stage of village settlement in southern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period. However, it later appears to have been abandoned for a time. Scholars believe that, as the climate changed from relatively moist to drought in the early 3rd millennium BC, the small farming villages of the Ubaid culture consolidated into larger settlements, arising from the need for large-scale, centralized irrigation works to survive the dry spell. Ur became one such center, and by around 2600 BC, in the Sumerian Sumerian king list, the city was again thriving. Ur by this time was considered sacred to Nanna.

The location of Ur was favourable for trade, by both sea and land routes, into Arabia. Many elaborate tombs, including that of Queen Puabi Queen Puabi is also written Pu-Abi and formerly transcribed as Shub-ab., were constructed. In this cemetery were also found artifacts bearing the names of kings Meskalamdug and Akalamdug. Eventually, the kings of Ur became the effective rulers of Sumer, in the first dynasty of Ur established by the king Mesannepada (or Mesanepada, Mes-Anni-Padda), who is on the kinglist and is named as a son of Meskalamdug on one artifact.

The first dynasty was ended by an attack of Sargon of Akkad around 24th century BC. Not much is known about the following second dynasty, when the city was in eclipse.

The 3rd dynasty of Ur was established when the king Ur-Nammu (or Urnammu) came to power, ruling between ca. 22nd century BC and 21st century BC. During his rule, temples, including the ziggurat, were built, and agriculture was improved through irrigation. His code of laws, the Code of Ur-Nammu (a fragment was identified in Istanbul in 1952) is one of the oldest such documents known, preceding the code of Hammurabi by 300 years. He and his successor Shulgi were both deified during their reigns, and after his death, he continued as a hero-figure: one of the surviving works of Sumerian literature describes the death of Ur-Nammu and his journey to the underworld.

According to one estimate, Ur was the largest city in the world from c. 2030 to 1980 BC. Its population was approximately 65,000.http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm

The third dynasty fell around 1950 BC to the Elamites; the Lament for Ur commemorates this event. Later, Babylon captured the city.

In the 6th century BC there was new construction in Ur under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus, improved the ziggurat. However the city started to decline from around 550 BC and was no longer inhabited after about 500 BC, perhaps owing to drought, changing river patterns, and the silting of the outlet to the Persian Gulf.

Biblical Ur Main article: Ur Kasdim. Ur is considered by many to be the city of Ur Kasdim mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the birthplace of the patriarch Abram (Abraham). This identification is, however, disputed. "Abraham One Man, One God", 1996 - Biography.com

Ur is mentioned four times in the Tanakh or Old Testament, with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin" — traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees", referring to the Chaldeans, who were already settled there by around 900 BC. In Genesis, the name is found in 11:28, 11:31 and 15:7. In Nehemiah 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of Genesis.

The Book of Jubilees states that Ur was founded in 1688 Anno Mundi (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably the offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year, wars began on Earth.

"And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. (ie, Ur Kesdim)" (Jubilees 11:3)

Archaeology In the mid-17th century, the site was visited by Pietro della Valle, who recorded the presence of ancient bricks stamped with strange symbols, cemented together with bitumen, as well as inscribed pieces of black marble that appeared to be seal (device).

The first excavation was made by United Kingdom Consulate general J.E. Taylor, who partly uncovered the ziggurat. Clay cylinders found in the four corners of the top stage of the ziggurat bore an inscription of Nabonidus (Nabuna`id), the last king of Babylon (530s BC), closing with a prayer for his son Belshar-uzur (Bel-ŝarra-Uzur), the Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel. Evidence was found of prior restorations of the ziggurat by Ishme-Dagan of Isin and Gimil-Sin of Ur, and by Kuri-galzu, a Kassites king of Babylon in the 14th century BC. Nebuchadnezzar also claims to have rebuilt the temple. Taylor further excavated an interesting Babylonian building, not far from the temple, part of an ancient Babylonian necropolis. All about the city he found abundant remains of burials of later periods. Apparently, in later times, owing to its sanctity, Ur became a favourite place of sepulchres, so that even after it had ceased to be inhabited, it continued to be used as a necropolis.

After Taylor's time the site was visited by numerous travelers, almost all of whom have found ancient Babylonian remains, inscribed stones and the like, lying upon the surface. The site was considered rich in remains, and relatively easy to explore.

Excavations from 1922 to 1934 were funded by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania and led by the archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley. A total of about 1,850 burials were uncovered, including 16 that were described as "royal tombs" containing many valuable artifacts, including the Standard of Ur. Most of the royal tombs were dated to about 2600 BC. The finds included the unlooted tomb of a queen thought to be Queen Puabi – the name is known from a cylinder seal (device) found in the tomb, although there were two other different and unnamed seals found in the tomb. Many other people had been buried with her, in a form of human sacrifice. Near the ziggurat were uncovered the temple E-nun-mah and buildings E-dub-lal-mah (built for a king), E-gi-par (residence of the high priestess) and E-hur-sag (a temple building). Outside the temple area, many houses used in everyday life were found. Excavations were also made below the royal tombs layer: a 3.5m thick layer of alluvial clay covered the remains of earlier habitation, including pottery from the Ubaid period, the first stage of settlement in southern Mesopotamia. Woolley later wrote many articles and books about the discoveries.

Most of the treasures excavated at Ur are in the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Archaeological names of periods of habitation include:

Access to visitors There is no modern village at Ur, so it has never received many tourist visitors, although it has been made accessible to them. Saddam Hussein established a military base adjacent to the site, and it was wholly inaccessible even to the hardiest travelers, on security grounds, after the Iran-Iraq war. In early 1990, a handful of travelers were permitted to tour the site, escorted by soldiers, but they were not permitted to climb the ziggurat (as they were elsewhere) because of its commanding view of the military base and all the country surrounding it. Shortly after this, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait made further visits impossible, and great concern was expressed at the proximity of the military base to the archaeological site at a time of war. These concerns revived when Iraq was invaded in 2003.

January 2004 Some of the areas that were cleared during excavations were also sanded over again.

The site is set up for tourism, however not on the scale exhibited by some sites in Egypt. Electricity is at the site and several lines of poles go through the site area. There are a few steel poles about 25 m high, near the Great Ziggurat, that seem to be intended for lighting of the site; however there are no actual lamps on them. Tourist information signs are also found at the site in Arabic language. There are a few shaded resting places available for tourists located close to the entry of the site.

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, westerners have been coming here again, in the form of Coalition of the willing. The road up to the site is covered with little shops, selling everything from Saddam Hussein money bills to genuine rugs. There is only one shop on the actual site.

One can visit the whole site, view any grave or climb any peak without restrictions. The huge United States / Coalition forces Ali Base (formerly called Tallil Air Base), is located nearby.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur is fully cleared and stands as the best-preserved and only major structure on the site. One can walk around it, and will observe very little damage. Only the top is covered with debris and is at times a confusing mix of loose stones, broken pottery and partial reconstruction.

The famous Royal tombs, also called the Neo-Sumerian architecture Mausolea, located about 250m south-east of the Great Ziggurat, in the corner of the wall that surrounds the city –- a wall difficult to locate today unless one knows it is there -- are nearly totally cleared. Parts of the tomb area appear to be in need of structural consolidation or stabilisation.

One can see Cuneiform script (Sumerian writing) on many walls, some entirely covered in script stamped into the mud-bricks. It is sometimes difficult to see the text, but on close inspection, it covers most surfaces.

Modern graffiti has also found its way to the graves, usually in the form of names made with colour pens (sometimes they are carved). The Great Ziggurat itself has far more graffiti, mostly lightly carved into the bricks.

The graves are completely empty with nothing left in them. It is possible to climb into and out of all of them.

The whole site is covered completely with broken pottery. One can practically not set foot anywhere without stepping on broken pottery. It even surpasses Saqqara in Egypt in that regard, and is easily on the level of Dendera (a much smaller area). They are mostly small pieces, but once in a while there are also large pieces. Some have colours and paintings on them. One can see that some of the 'mountains' of broken pottery are of newer creation, and are debris removed from excavations. Similar 'mountains' can be seen at Egyptian sites, like Great Pyramid of Giza, Saqqara and Dendera.

Pottery debris is inside many of the walls of the royal tombs area. It can only be speculated whether this is of ancient making or modern restoration, but it is a fact that they are, literally, filled up with pottery debris.

Popular culture











Notes

Sources

See also

External links

in the background, January 17 2004

Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the mouth (at the time) of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. It is considered to be one of the earliest known civilizations in History of the world. Because of marine regression (geology), the remains are now well inland in present-day Iraq, south of the Euphrates on its right bank, and named Tell el-Mukayyar Tell el-Mukayyar – in Arabic language Tell means "mound" and Mukayyar means "built of bitumen". Mukayyar is variously transcribed as Mugheir, Mughair, Moghair, Muqayyar etc., near the city of Nasiriyah south of Baghdad.

The site is marked by the ruins of a ziggurat (right), still largely intact, and by a settlement mound. The ziggurat is a temple of Nanna (Sumerian deity), the Lunar_deity in Mesopotamian mythology, and has two stages constructed from brick: in the lower stage the bricks are joined together with bitumen, in the upper stage they are joined with Mortar (masonry). The Sumerian name for this city was Urim.S. M. Kramer, The Sumerians, Their History, Culture, and Character, University of Chicago Press, 1963, pages 28 and 298

History Ur was inhabited in the earliest stage of village settlement in southern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period. However, it later appears to have been abandoned for a time. Scholars believe that, as the climate changed from relatively moist to drought in the early 3rd millennium BC, the small farming villages of the Ubaid culture consolidated into larger settlements, arising from the need for large-scale, centralized irrigation works to survive the dry spell. Ur became one such center, and by around 2600 BC, in the Sumerian Sumerian king list, the city was again thriving. Ur by this time was considered sacred to Nanna.

The location of Ur was favourable for trade, by both sea and land routes, into Arabia. Many elaborate tombs, including that of Queen Puabi Queen Puabi is also written Pu-Abi and formerly transcribed as Shub-ab., were constructed. In this cemetery were also found artifacts bearing the names of kings Meskalamdug and Akalamdug. Eventually, the kings of Ur became the effective rulers of Sumer, in the first dynasty of Ur established by the king Mesannepada (or Mesanepada, Mes-Anni-Padda), who is on the kinglist and is named as a son of Meskalamdug on one artifact.

The first dynasty was ended by an attack of Sargon of Akkad around 24th century BC. Not much is known about the following second dynasty, when the city was in eclipse.

The 3rd dynasty of Ur was established when the king Ur-Nammu (or Urnammu) came to power, ruling between ca. 22nd century BC and 21st century BC. During his rule, temples, including the ziggurat, were built, and agriculture was improved through irrigation. His code of laws, the Code of Ur-Nammu (a fragment was identified in Istanbul in 1952) is one of the oldest such documents known, preceding the code of Hammurabi by 300 years. He and his successor Shulgi were both deified during their reigns, and after his death, he continued as a hero-figure: one of the surviving works of Sumerian literature describes the death of Ur-Nammu and his journey to the underworld.

According to one estimate, Ur was the largest city in the world from c. 2030 to 1980 BC. Its population was approximately 65,000.http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm

The third dynasty fell around 1950 BC to the Elamites; the Lament for Ur commemorates this event. Later, Babylon captured the city.

In the 6th century BC there was new construction in Ur under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus, improved the ziggurat. However the city started to decline from around 550 BC and was no longer inhabited after about 500 BC, perhaps owing to drought, changing river patterns, and the silting of the outlet to the Persian Gulf.

Biblical Ur Main article: Ur Kasdim. Ur is considered by many to be the city of Ur Kasdim mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the birthplace of the patriarch Abram (Abraham). This identification is, however, disputed. "Abraham One Man, One God", 1996 - Biography.com

Ur is mentioned four times in the Tanakh or Old Testament, with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin" — traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees", referring to the Chaldeans, who were already settled there by around 900 BC. In Genesis, the name is found in 11:28, 11:31 and 15:7. In Nehemiah 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of Genesis.

The Book of Jubilees states that Ur was founded in 1688 Anno Mundi (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably the offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year, wars began on Earth.

"And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. (ie, Ur Kesdim)" (Jubilees 11:3)

Archaeology In the mid-17th century, the site was visited by Pietro della Valle, who recorded the presence of ancient bricks stamped with strange symbols, cemented together with bitumen, as well as inscribed pieces of black marble that appeared to be seal (device).

The first excavation was made by United Kingdom Consulate general J.E. Taylor, who partly uncovered the ziggurat. Clay cylinders found in the four corners of the top stage of the ziggurat bore an inscription of Nabonidus (Nabuna`id), the last king of Babylon (530s BC), closing with a prayer for his son Belshar-uzur (Bel-ŝarra-Uzur), the Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel. Evidence was found of prior restorations of the ziggurat by Ishme-Dagan of Isin and Gimil-Sin of Ur, and by Kuri-galzu, a Kassites king of Babylon in the 14th century BC. Nebuchadnezzar also claims to have rebuilt the temple. Taylor further excavated an interesting Babylonian building, not far from the temple, part of an ancient Babylonian necropolis. All about the city he found abundant remains of burials of later periods. Apparently, in later times, owing to its sanctity, Ur became a favourite place of sepulchres, so that even after it had ceased to be inhabited, it continued to be used as a necropolis.

After Taylor's time the site was visited by numerous travelers, almost all of whom have found ancient Babylonian remains, inscribed stones and the like, lying upon the surface. The site was considered rich in remains, and relatively easy to explore.

Excavations from 1922 to 1934 were funded by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania and led by the archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley. A total of about 1,850 burials were uncovered, including 16 that were described as "royal tombs" containing many valuable artifacts, including the Standard of Ur. Most of the royal tombs were dated to about 2600 BC. The finds included the unlooted tomb of a queen thought to be Queen Puabi – the name is known from a cylinder seal (device) found in the tomb, although there were two other different and unnamed seals found in the tomb. Many other people had been buried with her, in a form of human sacrifice. Near the ziggurat were uncovered the temple E-nun-mah and buildings E-dub-lal-mah (built for a king), E-gi-par (residence of the high priestess) and E-hur-sag (a temple building). Outside the temple area, many houses used in everyday life were found. Excavations were also made below the royal tombs layer: a 3.5m thick layer of alluvial clay covered the remains of earlier habitation, including pottery from the Ubaid period, the first stage of settlement in southern Mesopotamia. Woolley later wrote many articles and books about the discoveries.

Most of the treasures excavated at Ur are in the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Archaeological names of periods of habitation include:

Access to visitors There is no modern village at Ur, so it has never received many tourist visitors, although it has been made accessible to them. Saddam Hussein established a military base adjacent to the site, and it was wholly inaccessible even to the hardiest travelers, on security grounds, after the Iran-Iraq war. In early 1990, a handful of travelers were permitted to tour the site, escorted by soldiers, but they were not permitted to climb the ziggurat (as they were elsewhere) because of its commanding view of the military base and all the country surrounding it. Shortly after this, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait made further visits impossible, and great concern was expressed at the proximity of the military base to the archaeological site at a time of war. These concerns revived when Iraq was invaded in 2003.

January 2004 Some of the areas that were cleared during excavations were also sanded over again.

The site is set up for tourism, however not on the scale exhibited by some sites in Egypt. Electricity is at the site and several lines of poles go through the site area. There are a few steel poles about 25 m high, near the Great Ziggurat, that seem to be intended for lighting of the site; however there are no actual lamps on them. Tourist information signs are also found at the site in Arabic language. There are a few shaded resting places available for tourists located close to the entry of the site.

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, westerners have been coming here again, in the form of Coalition of the willing. The road up to the site is covered with little shops, selling everything from Saddam Hussein money bills to genuine rugs. There is only one shop on the actual site.

One can visit the whole site, view any grave or climb any peak without restrictions. The huge United States / Coalition forces Ali Base (formerly called Tallil Air Base), is located nearby.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur is fully cleared and stands as the best-preserved and only major structure on the site. One can walk around it, and will observe very little damage. Only the top is covered with debris and is at times a confusing mix of loose stones, broken pottery and partial reconstruction.

The famous Royal tombs, also called the Neo-Sumerian architecture Mausolea, located about 250m south-east of the Great Ziggurat, in the corner of the wall that surrounds the city –- a wall difficult to locate today unless one knows it is there -- are nearly totally cleared. Parts of the tomb area appear to be in need of structural consolidation or stabilisation.

One can see Cuneiform script (Sumerian writing) on many walls, some entirely covered in script stamped into the mud-bricks. It is sometimes difficult to see the text, but on close inspection, it covers most surfaces.

Modern graffiti has also found its way to the graves, usually in the form of names made with colour pens (sometimes they are carved). The Great Ziggurat itself has far more graffiti, mostly lightly carved into the bricks.

The graves are completely empty with nothing left in them. It is possible to climb into and out of all of them.

The whole site is covered completely with broken pottery. One can practically not set foot anywhere without stepping on broken pottery. It even surpasses Saqqara in Egypt in that regard, and is easily on the level of Dendera (a much smaller area). They are mostly small pieces, but once in a while there are also large pieces. Some have colours and paintings on them. One can see that some of the 'mountains' of broken pottery are of newer creation, and are debris removed from excavations. Similar 'mountains' can be seen at Egyptian sites, like Great Pyramid of Giza, Saqqara and Dendera.

Pottery debris is inside many of the walls of the royal tombs area. It can only be speculated whether this is of ancient making or modern restoration, but it is a fact that they are, literally, filled up with pottery debris.

Popular culture











Notes

Sources

See also

External links



Ur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), located near the mouth (at the time) of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu.

UR :: Always on yoUR side
Power Management, Communication Technology, RF and Wireless solutions from UR Group Ltd (Ultimate Renaissance) provide electronic engineers and design engineers with top quality ...

No Ur Rites
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PURESSENCE
Official site with news, discography, audio and video samples, reviews and forum.

Lava & Ignite - Ur Music Network
About Lava & Ignite. The classic two-room nightclub offering the ultimate clubbing experience in the 21st century. Lava includes amazing sound and laser technology, attracting top ...

Watford - Destiny - Ur Music Network
Features house, garage, rhythm and blues, party and chart. What's on, gallery, charts and membership.

Liquid - Ur Music Network
A chain of clubs across England and Wales. Locations, opening hours, dress code, entertainment. [Site uses Flash].

Kingston Upon Thames - The Works - Ur Music Network
Includes details of nights, offers, photo gallery and music chart.

Arnold Hague convoy database - UR convoys
A database of the mercantile vessels that sailed in the UR convoys series from the Arnold Hague convoy database. Full listings of ships and escorts are given for each convoy ...

The Urdang Academy
Full-time accredited dance and ballet diplomas, musical theatre, International Summer School, open dance days. Located in the heart of the West End, London.

 

Ur



 
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