The “Archaic I” Phase of the Ziqqurat Terrace at Ur: a Contextual Re-assessment

Between 1930-1932 C. L. Woolley and his staff investigated the so-called “archaic” levels of the Ziqqurat Terrace, the sanctuary of the moon god Nanna-Zu’en. Two superimposed phases (Archaic II-I) of a building consisting of a large rectangular boundary wall encompassing domestic-like buildings (kitchen temples), were extensively exposed. This paper aims at re-assessing the Archaic I phase evidence from a contextual point of view. In order to reconstruct the functions of the excavated loci, a thorough analysis of the unpublished archive of the Ur excavation kept at the British Museum of London was carried out, and the original materials, housed at the BM and the Penn Museum of Philadelphia, were taken into examination afresh. The outcome of this study would be a contextual and functional analysis of the Archaic I phase, completed by a new discussion of the finds. This would provide new element for the discussion of the chronological framework of this phase, as well as shed more light on the activities carried out in sanctuaries during the ED period.