Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1924-01-24
RUINS 230O B. G..
ARE UNCOVERED
Yield Excavators Highly Priced
Facts Ancient Graves are Open
ed and Pottery Discovered.

report of the joint expedition of the
British museum and the University
of Pennsylvania in the work of ex-
eavating at Ur of the Chaldees in
Mesopotamia during the present sea-
son was made public here tonight
and contains interesting and i'm
portant archaeological information
OF the work being performed in the
land where history dawned. The re-
port was made by C. Leonard Woody
director of the joint expedition.
The most laborious task, the re-
port stated, was the clearing of the
masses of debris surrounding the
ziggurat or staged tower. The walls
OF the main structure, set up by Ur-
Engur, about 23O0 B. C. are wonder
fully well preserved. In all Mesopo-
tamia there is no pref Christian mon
ument so imposing as the ziggurat of
Uy, the report stated.
Meanwhile a smaller group of men
has been employed at Tell-El-Obeid
q little mound some four and a half
miles from the ziggurat.
"For the first time we have been
able to learn the real character of
the site and recover in good condi-
ton some of the astonishing works
report.
Uncover Earliest Graves
"Up to the present two distinct
parts of the site have been attack
ed, a cemetery and building on
which Dr. Hall worked. The graves
are probably the earliest yet found
in this country, dating from the
fifth and early fourth millennia, B.
C. and have yielded an embarrass-
ing quantity of objects.
''The people who were at least in
part Sumerian, were still using many
stone implements bst- wasea ncna
the less quit familiar with copper,
and had developed great skill in
hammering and casting the metal;
but side by side with implements
of flint and copper we find copies of
the same in pottery, showing that
both materials, being imported from
a distance. were sufficiently valua-
BILE to make certain people grudge
them to the dead.
Pottery as for the most part
wheelmade, but handmade wares had
not wholly disappeared and painted
pottery, recalling that found in the
early strata of the ruins of Susa,
was in use at the beginning of the
period, though it seems to have been
ousted later by the plain types.
Find Complete Skeleton
1.-The dead were laid sometimes at
full length, sometimes in the con-
tracted position, many were in mere
troughs cut in the hard soil, some
were in clay urns, oval or circular
such as continued in use throughout
all Babylonian history. Most of the
bones had decayed away, but few
skulls and one complete skeleton
have been recovered, and should be
of no small interest sevidence of
the origin of the Sumerian race.
"The building lies close to thb
cemetery. On the top of the mound
are the scanty remains of a temple
put up by Dungi, the second king
of the third dynasty of Ur, who
reigned about 225O B. C. This re-
placed an earlier building which stood
on terraced platform of mud brick
about which we can only say that it
is quite probably dates to the second
dynasty of Ur. Entirely buried below
the terrace floors lies the building
which DR.. Hall first discovered. A
lucky chance has brought to light a
tablet recording it's foundation and
we learn that it was the temple of
the Goddess Nin-Khursag, set up by
King A-AN-Ni-Pad-Da, king Of the
first dynasty of Ur.
The scribes who soon after 1000
B. c., drew up list of the kings
of Sumer and Akkad, have left it
on record that the kings who reign
ed Immediately after the flood were
those Of Kish-and the years of the
reigns would put Methusaleh to his
shame; then came the second dynas-
ty, that of Erech, marked by similar
incredible longevity and third from
the flood is put the first dynasty OF
Ur.
Regarded as Mythical
This dynasty, like the two which
preceded it, has commonly been re.
,garded as mythical. It's rulers were
assigned no more than normal length
of power, but nothing was knowr
of them, and they were merely name.
in a list; dead reckoning basis or