Description

The Ziggurat of Ur was discovered in the 1920s by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. Situated in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq, near Nasiriyah, the ziggurat was part of the city of Ur, one of the world's earliest urban centers. Dating back to the early Bronze Age (21st century BCE), it was constructed under King Ur-Nammu and completed by his son Shulgi, as a place of worship dedicated to the moon god Nanna, the patron deity of Ur. Woolley's excavation, jointly sponsored by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania, unearthed the ziggurat along with a vast complex of royal tombs rich in artifacts and treasures. This discovery provided invaluable insights into Sumerian culture, art, and religion. The ziggurat's massive step pyramid structure, originally crowned by a temple, stood as a testament to the engineering prowess of the Sumerians.