The Washington times., 1922-05-21

T7HE ancient city called "Ur OF the
Chaldees" in the Bible, the birth.
place of the great Patriarch Abra-
ham, has at last been extensively exca-
waited
1t need hardly be said this work is OF
supreme interest among archaeological
discoveries, because Abraham is stated In
the Bible to have been the original ances-
tor of the children Of Israel. His long
wanderings from Ur Of the Chaldees to
Canaan and his adventures form an i'm.
porant part Of the Book OF Genesis.
The new researches at ancient Ur have
been conducted since the war by DIR. II. r.
Hall, deputy keeper of Egyptian and Assy.
rian antiquities at the British Museum.
on behalf Of that institution.
They have resulted in the discovery OF
a vast quantity of interesting objects dat
ing from the time of Abraham back TO
thousands OF years before his day. They
show us that Ur had an elaborate civiliza-
tion, politics, art. commerce and science
more than FIVE thousand years ago. Moth
. ing more interesting and peculiar in this
way has ever been found.
Life like portrait busts OF men OF FIVE
thousand years ago have been Ndug up
fifty feet down among the rubbish and
debris Some Of these ancient men are Of
civilized and intelligent type. Many of
them are very much the kind OF men you
can see in the New York subway every
day Of the week.
Particularly interesting is the bust OF
Kur-lil, who was doorkeeper of the Tenn.
pie of Erech in Ur in 1900 B. c., or exactly
5122 years ago. 1t has a complete inscrip-
ton in the oldest cuneiform characters.
The priest has large, curved nose and
very prominent eyes. probably characteris-
tic Of his race. His head is shaven, which
was rule among the priests of the time
Kur-lil has a strong. SNUG, self-assertive,
sef-satisied face, just the sort OF man
who would have kept the Temple in good
order and collected the largest obtainable
contributions from the worshppers. He is
decidedly a civilized type Of man, although
he lived long before ancient Rome existed.
The site Of ancient Ur is a hill now
called Tell-el.Mukkayar, the actual site Of
the city being entirely deserted, while only
a few poor Arab peasants CLEAN bare
existence in the vicinity. The learned
archaeoogists while investigating the
ruins of the old city have been learning
why Abraham, the intelligent forefather
of the Jews, left this populous centre and
went out into the unknown world In search
of a better country.
Tr of the Chaldees lies near the mouth
Of the Euphrates River. running into the
Persian Gulf in dreadfully hot, swampy
and unhealthy region. The British sol.
diers, who had to invade Mesopotamia by
this route, suffered cruelty. No doubt, in
the dawn Of civilization, it was fine cen
trail locality for commerce, and this was
what attracted the first civilized men.
One Of the interesting finds was the eX-
cavation of a palace OF King Ur-Engur or
Ur-Nammu, of the third dynasty of Ur,
who reigned about 2300 B. c. This palace
was named THE House Of the Mountain"
by its architect, who signs himself
"E Kharsag" 1t was on the highest spot
in the town and enjoyed fine view Of the
surrounding country
The palace was built of great fiat burnt
bricks. fourteen inches square, and its
walls were FIVE feet thick, showing that
the old Babylonians knew how to keep out
both the Summer heat and the Winter
cold of Babylonia. Close by were the
brick walls of the temple Of Ninsun, the
local Venus.
The palace had been destroyed by
fire, perhaps only century or two after 1t
was built, which means that 1t was de-
stroyed over 1000 years ago. Centuries
later, as recently as $500 years ago the
site was reoccupied by families of priests Of
the moon-god, Sin, the chief deity for
time OF Ur They erected buildings OF
their own with the old bricks and left