tour 2 of 26
Agatha Christie and archaeology
Ur (1928-30)
Familiar from the Old Testament as 'Ur
of the Chaldees' (Genesis 11:29-32), Abraham's
place of origin, the archaeological remains of Ur were not located
until the nineteenth century. In 1849 the English geologist William
Kennet Loftus saw the ruins known as Tell el-Muqqayar (the
'pitch-built hill') and wrote an enthusiastic
account of the possibilites they might present. However, the main
excavations at Ur were not undertaken until 1922-34 when Leonard
Woolley led a joint expedition of the British Museum and the
University Museum, Pennsylvania. The incredible finds they made, as
well as the insight gained by study of the thousands of clay
tablets, have added greatly to our knowledge of ancient oriental
art and culture.
Max
Mallowan, as Woolley's archaeological assistant, made a
considerable contribution. He worked there for six years, until he
fell in love with a woman visiting the dig, married her and left
the Ur expedition in order to work on sites where he and his new
wife could be
together.
Illustration:
Reconstruction of a burial shaft at Ur, showing the queen's
retinue and the ox drivers (A. Forestier,
1928)