Leonard Woolley

Sir Leonard Charles Woolley (born April 17, 1880 – died February 20, 1960) was a British archaeologist, best known for his excavations at Ur in Sumer, ancient Mesopotamia, (present-day Iraq).

Life

Leonard Woolley was born in London, England, in the family of a clergyman. After initially following his father’s footsteps, Woolley decided to become an archeologist. He graduated from University of Oxford.

In 1905, Woolley became assistant keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Then, on the recommendation of Sir Arthur Evans, he became the first supervisor of the Corstopitum excavations at Corbridge in Northumberland, in 1906 and 1907, under the direction of Francis Haverfield. From 1907 to 1911 Woolley participated in an archaeological expedition to Wadi Halfa, Sudan, an area rich in Egyptian antiquities

From 1912 to 1914 he started collaboration with T.E. Lawrence on the clearing of Carchemish, the Hittite city in the Sinai Peninsula (present-day Syria). The [[World War I] interrupted their work, but they re-started the excavations in 1919. Woolley described his work there in Carchemish (part 2, 1921, and part 3, with R.D. Barnett, 1952). Woolley also worked in Tell el-Amarna, the ancient city of king Akhenaton, with the Egypt Exploration Society.

His work at Ur of the Chaldees began in 1922, carrying it through 1934. Woolley was in charge of the joint venture between the British Museum, London and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The discoveries found at Ur made Woolley world-famous archeologist.

He was knighted in 1935 for his services to archaeology.

In 1937 Woolley started to search for the link between Mesopotamian civilization and those of Greece and the Aegean. This led him to the Syrian city of al-Mina, following by the Turkish city of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), where he conducted excavations from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1946 to 1949. Woolley discovered there remains of a small kingdom dating from 4th millennium B.C.E. He described his finds in Alalakh, an Account of the Excavations at Tell Atchana in the Hatay, 1937–1949 (1955) and A Forgotten Kingdom (1953).

Woolley died on February 20, 1960.

Work

Leonard Woolley remains famous for his excavations at the Ur of Chaldees, south of Baghdad, in present-day Iraq. Woolley there uncovered a cemetery of some 1800 graves, with tombs of a great material wealth. It was the royal burial site of Mesopotamian royalties. Inside these tombs were large paintings of ancient Mesopotamian culture at its zenith, along with amazing pieces of gold and silver jewelry, cups and other furnishings.

Queen Pu-Abi

The most extravagant tomb was that of Queen Pu-Abi. It contained the incredible high quality goods, well preserved from the decay.Amazingly enough, Queen Pu-Abi’s tomb remained untouched by the hands of looters through the millennia. Inside the tomb, among the items found were a cylindrical seal bearing Queen’s name in Sumerian, golden headdress made of golden leaves, rings, and plates, a superb lyre, complete with the golden and lapis-lazuli encrusted bearded bulls head, a profusion of gold table ware, and many other items. Queen’s body was found buried along with her attendants who had poisoned themselves (or have been poisoned by others) in order to join her and continue to serve her. All together, bodies of five soldiers and 23 maids were found. Woolley reconstructed her funeral ceremony from the findings in her tomb. Today her headdress, cylinder seal and her body are on display at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Standard of Ur

the "War" panel

Another important find was the Standard of Ur (also known as the "Battle Standard of Ur," or the "Royal Standard of Ur"). It was a Sumerian artifact dating from around 2600 B.C.E. Its original function is not conclusively understood. Leonard Wooley suggested that it had been carried on a pole, borne as a standard. It has also been speculated that it was the sound box of a musical instrument. The artifact is interested because it has two main panels, with pictures of war, on one, and normal life on another (they have been named accordingly - “War” and “Peace”). The artifact is interesting in a reason it depicts the way of life in ancient Sumer, with battle scenes with four-wheeled chariots, armor, weapons, enemy (on “War” panel), as well as banquet feast with animal parade, singing, and war booty.

The Standard of Ur is currently in a reconstructed state, as the effects of time over the last several millennia had decayed the wooden frame and bitumen glue which had cemented the mosaic in place. It is currently housed in London's British Museum.

The excavated treasures from Woolley's expedition were divided between the British Museum in London, the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the National Museum in Baghdad. Several pieces were looted from the National Museum in the aftermath of the Second Gulf War in 2003. Recently, several of the more spectacular pieces from Pu-Abi's grave have been the feature of a highly successful Art and History Museum tour through the United Kingdom and America.

Evidence of the Great Flood

In 1929, while excavating in the city of Ur, Woolley observed a thick layer of sediment that was covering the whole area. Woolley believed that the layer was the evidence that the Biblical story of the Great Flood was correct. He argued that Flood was not universal, that is, that it did not literally cover the whole world, but only the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. He claimed:

This deluge was not universal, but a local disaster confined to the lower valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, affecting an area perhaps 400 miles long and 100 miles wide; but for the occupants of the valley that was the whole world! (Ur of the Chaldees: A Record of Seven Years of Excavation: 31).

In addition, adds Woolley, according to Sumerian records (i.e. Gilgamesh Epic) some of the cities of the valley survived the flood. Woolley’s discovery was soon connected to some similar discoveries, especially of the remains of the city of Kish. Theologians and people of faith have used this as the evidence to support a flood account in the Bible. Some further research, however, has provided limited evidence to this theory, claiming that sediments found by Woolley were extremely local, not even covering the whole of the city of Ur. The evidence of the Great Flood thus remains controversial.

Legacy

The discoveries Woolley found in the city of Ur had lasting effects on the modern day archeology. They paved the way for our understanding of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia – their art, architecture, literature, government and religious practices. The scholars were able to reconstruct the history of the city of Ur starting from its formation in prehistoric time (c. 4000 B.C.E.) till its final days in 4th century B.C.E. The artifacts Woolley uncovered were among the most beautiful and the best preserved of all from the same historical period.

Agatha Christie was inspired by the work of Wooley, especially by the discovery of the royal tombs. She wrote her book Murder in Mesopotamia based on her experiences at the excavations at Ur. She later married Woolley’s younger assistant, Max Mallowan.

Bibliography

Woolley, Charles L. 1921. Carchemish - Report on the Excavations at Jerablus on Behalf of the British Museum: The Town Defences. British Museum Press. ISBN 0714110027

Woolley, Charles L. 1929. Ur of the Chaldees: A Record of Seven Years of Excavation. Ernest Benn Ltd.

Woolley, Charles L. 1936. Abraham: Recent discoveries and Hebrew origins. Faber and Faber

Woolley, Charles L. 1954. Excavations At Ur: A Record Of Twelve Years Work. Ernest Benn.

Woolley, Charles L. 1955. Alalakh, an Account of the Excavations at Tell Atchana in the Hatay. Society of Antiquaries

Woolley, Charles L. 1958. History Unearthed. Ernest Benn

Woolley, Charles L. 1961. Art of the Middle East including Persia, Mesopotamia and Palestine. Crown Publishing Group Inc.

Woolley, Charles L. 1965 (original work from 1929). The Sumerians. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393002926

Woolley, Charles L. 1968. (original work from 1953). Forgotten Kingdom. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393004503

Woolley, Charles L. 1969. Discovering the Royal Tombs at Ur. Atheneum. ISBN 0027360504

Woolley, Charles L. 1975. Spadework: Adventures in Archaeology. White Lion Publishers Limited. ISBN 0856177989

Woolley, Charles L. 1978. (original work from 1931). Digging up the Past. Greenwood Press Reprint. ISBN 0837198534

Woolley, Charles L. 1981. The development of Sumerian art. Greenwood Press. ISBN 083714373X

Woolley, Charles L. & Barnett, R.D. 1952. Carchemish - Report on the Excavations at Jerablus on Behalf of the British Museum: The Excavations in the Inner Town and the Hittite Inscriptions. British Museum Press. ISBN 0714110035

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Dunham, Sally. 2000. Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 120(4), 669

Honour, Alan. 1967. Treasures under the sand: Leonard Woolley's finds at Ur. McGraw-Hill

Horne, Lee. 1998. Ur and its Treasures: The Royal Tombs. Expedition Magazine. 40(2).

Zettler, R. L.; Horne, L.; Hansen, D.P. & Pittman, H. 1998. Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0924171553

Klein, Richard G. 1990. Sir Leonard Woolley. World Book Encyclopedia. (A. Richard Harmet, Ed.). Chicago: World Book, Inc.

Winstone, H. V. F. 1992. Woolley of Ur: The Life of Sir Leonard Woolley. William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN 0436577909

External links

Leonard C. Woolley - Biography

Artifacts of Ur - British Museum website

Plan of Queen Pu-abi's gravesite – Photos and video of the tomb

Royal Tombs of Ur - At the University of Pennsylvania Museum]

Excavations at Ur – Picture story of Woolley’s journey and excavations in Mesopotamia

Palestine Exploration Fund – PEF website with Woolley’s pictures and excavation information

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