Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur

Beginning in 1922, archaeologist Charles Leonard Woolley, co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania and the British Museum, led a monumental excavation at Ur. Predating ancient Egypt and its famed pyramids by thousands of years, this southern Mesopotamian city-state possessed its own rich culture and architectural monuments, notably the ziggurat, a stepped structure topped by a temple. In extensive excavations undergone from 1927-1934, Woolley uncovered 16 royal tombs filled with precious royal artifacts, remains, and indications of human sacrifice.

[@jimmieleeacre1450]

It really is an incredible and beautiful site. For a few years my band played USO shows all over the world and finally made it to Iraq in 2005. We flew commercially from L.A. to Kuwait, played a show at Camp Virginia, then flew Military to Tallil, Iraq. After getting settled in one of the reps for the base said "There are some pretty awesome ruins just outside of the wire and we set up a tour if you want to go.". I was ecstatic as ancient human history is my favorite subject. My singer Brandt and I went and the other 2 decided to stay in their rooms to sleep (which the kick themselves over to this day). We started at the Ziggurat and it was breathtaking, especially being at the top and looking at the rest of the site. We then went to the Temple of Nanna and entered through "the world's oldest known arched doorway.". From there we went to the ruins of the Palace and that's where the story gets crazy. Brandt and I noticed the horizon to the West was black. When we asked about it they said it was a sandstorm, but too far away to be concerned about and that it was at least an hour and a half away. They turned out to be wrong. Having confidence that the storm wasn't an issue, we next went to the tombs of a King on one side and Queen on the other. Amazing brick work and worth a search. As we descended the stairs towards the King's tomb a huge owl shoots out of the doorway and floats away from us showing off it's giant wingspan. As if the experience wasn't epic enough. After visiting the King's tomb and inspecting some owl pellets left by our friend, we went and took a quick look at the Queen's tomb before taking the wooden stairs back up to surface level. We had been down in the tombs for maybe 30 to 45 minutes and as we surfaced, we had the hard realization just how wrong they were about the sand storm. The sand in Iraq is incredibly fine, referred to as "Moon Dust", and had the consistency of baking flour. It was everywhere and to make matters worse, it started to rain. Big fat drops of desert rain, mixing with the super fine sand, and turning into falling mud. We're in a Biblical city, after seeing a huge owl fly out of a King's tomb, in the middle of a sand storm, getting pelted by giant drops of falling mud. It was the time of my life! We quickly ran up to the structure that they believe to be Abraham's house, took a quick look, and quickly jump into the van to cut our visit short, and head back to the base. It was a wonderful day. If you made it this far, thank you for sharing in my memories and I hope you have an awesome day!

[@angelafeldman5903]

Thxs! Felt like I was with you! Amazing 🌎!

[@crowznest438]

Thanks for taking the time to share that!!

[@garymunro7561]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that, thanks for sharing.

[@lukesayers5850]

I'm impressed you got Brandt to come with, lemme guess, guitar player and drummer stayed back,? Hehehe.

[@jeremystepp6117]

Thanx that was neat to read your experience. I only wished I was there with yall, I love biblical and Egyptian archeology

[@cynthiamclaglen5687]

My daughter cried when ISIS smashed artefacts from Museums in Iraq. One of the worst things was the destruction of the Library, made of stone covered in Cuneiform which was scattered. However much has been done since then to put it all together as many of the writings were recorded elsewhere. I was impressed by a very young man recreating and mending the large statues of the bulls with human heads and arms. He was so enthusiastic and doing such a good job. People who live in these places care as much as we do and very much to put things right. When war has gone, people will want to visit and spend their money in Iraq to see all these wonderful artefacts. I am sorry for the whole world has lost the oldest remains of Civilisation in the whole world. However the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh has been put together again, and Nineveh is the true location of the Hanging Gardens. Read, "The Mystery of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon" by Stephanie Dalley, who writes and reads Cuneiform. Cynthia McLaglen

[@salihalraziqi4963]

Luckily ISIS didn't get to the south where sigts like Ur,Uruk and babylon are.

[@bluefisshh2377]

Yeah instead U.S stole those artifacts including antediluvian ones and then interestingly the pope recently made a visit to this region.

[@michaelciccone2194]

How amazing is this country. I am too fond of this land as well. I am a Bible student....prophet Ezekiel tomb is located in Al'Kiffel near Hillah...I so much would love to go there and so many other sites!!!!!

[@cynthiamclaglen5687]

@@michaelciccone2194 Me too! Cynthia McLaglen

[@user-mj5nk1sk9v]

At that time Europe was only inhabited by animals, and Mesopotamia was a great civilization

[@Ali-aliraqi7000]

I love southern Iraq, I love its culture, I love the civilization of Sumer and I'm really grateful to be one of them.

[@bonnielucas3244]

Really shows why the Bible' s account of Abram/Abraham's life was so significant. He trusted God enough to leave a sophisticated society. Abraham was such an unusual man that the Bible refers to him as a supreme example of faith in God, in spite of his flaws.

[@ali-haider5788]

In islam he is called the father of all prophets / religions He is one of the most important prophets in islam

[@mantizshrimp]

​@@ali-haider5788Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad kama baarakta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed

[@sinanlabeb2824]

Hello.. I am Sinan Labib from Mesopotamia, the land of Ur, Babylon and Uruk, the land of Sumer, Assyria and Akkad. From the lineage of Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar and Hammurabi, the country of the Prophet Adam and Abraham, the land of Noah.. I regret what happened to my country.

[@kentkearney6623]

Clinton and Cheney suck. Whorebama too.

[@sumbulaanjum9864]

God forbid be you from the lineage of such accursed tyrants as nimrod n Nebuchadnezzar

[@sumbulaanjum9864]

God damn if u r from the lineage of Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar they were enemies of God. Say u r the follower of Prophet Adam and Abraham Muhammed pbuh

[@sunupfarm]

I saw this exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum 10 years ago and it made quite an impression. I'm so glad this is on KZbin to revisit!

[@farnorthweaver7793]

Excellent! One of the better Archeological presentations I've seen so far on KZbin...Well Done!

[@teresaharrison3055]

This was an amazing film, very informative and so well done. Thank you for sharing so those of us who’ll never get to go there can get a sense of this ancient treasure.

[@djs82a29]

In 2003 I was fortunate to visit Ur, and actually live near the ruins for a short time. Unfortunately it was during a war that I was there to fight. It was an amazing experience either way. At the time I really didn't understand the significance of the place that I was staying. I later realized it's importance, and would love to return someday if possible.

[@jimmieleeacre1450]

Were you in Tallil? At the airfield? In 2005 my band did several USO tours and one went through Kuwait, Iraq, and 1 show on the way home in Germany. After a show at Camp Virginia in Kuwait our first stop in Iraq was Tallil and they took us out to Ur for the entire afternoon. It was an absolutely awesome day. What an incredible site!

[@terriblefez]

Somewhat similar here though I didn't see the site. The way the sun set there was so familiar. Almost like being a visitor to a past life location.

[@KoolT]

Abraham, Ram and the Thicket art. Fantastic.

[@2scoop831]

I wish This documentary is longer.

[@charity2275]

Imagine what life was like for Abraham and his wife Sarah when they lived in Ur. The houses were three stories tall and very nice, compared to houses in other towns.

[@seanglynn6202]

The depth of those sites is what's got my head spinning.

[@GermanGreetings]

Thank you ! It`s the best I found about Ur. And the monody-music is so well chosen.

[@londonanatolia5050]

Very well represented . Thank you . It is a Weird feeling to be from this land . It feels So powerful yet so painful to be from Mesopotamia…

[@muffin6369]

I feel so sorry for Iraq. So many of it's treasures were wrecked because of the war. A little like the art etc that was destroyed in various museums in Berlin in World War II. Plus now with ISIS destroying ancient art in Iraq it's just terrible. I saw ISIS on TV just taking hammers etc to the beautiful statuary of Mesopotamia. What a shame

[@breakingbinds]

Hmm, kind of sad for the people and culture a little too. You know, the genocide of humans conducted by Merca and Saudi.

[@breakingbinds]

sorry, as this comment was posted a year ago, maybe your understandings of world events have evolved, but just incase not, do realize that dropping a bomb (or thousands) on cities on the other side of the world, creating a vacuum for chaos and capitalism?, is an act of terrorism. And on that note what were you referring to Sarah Kelly from fox news.

[@redpillscholar560]

muffin6369 Thank Israel for it!!!

[@banksjay3234]

It is a shame but they do it because they know who wants to get there hands on it soooo badly

[@mistermistere]

All of those middle eastern countries are so old! Starting with Mesopotamia! Sad to see humans erasing their own human history. Even more we won’t know where we are from.

[@JackDivision]

10 years later and still stunning.

[@ktor538]

Very interesting, I wasn't aware that the city Ur had queens, It would be a interesting documentary if there was some back story regarding their Queens.

[@mustafaabbas252]

Those who wish to visit this city will offer him help I live this city and its access is very safe

[@xezazase]

I like Ur video.

[@sungglerpassword]

This is great! Thank you so much. We've been studying Ur and this was a nice break from the textbook.

[@markdemell8056]

In my opinion schools are indoctrination centres.

[@ranipandian2135]

Ur is a Tamil word. Ur means place. My Ur means my native place like village, town, city

[@quinevere]

@@markdemell8056 bro what the fuck. we are learning art history. is my art school trying to indoctrinate me somehow by teaching us about artifacts and art ?

[@cattymajiv]

@@ranipandian2135 The word UR predates the Tamil language by THOUSANDS of years!

[@massimosquecco203]

The doc interesting and the music was lovely

[@lokyeesung3184]

I really want to go to the places where these ancient civilisations located and travel back in time. However, there are wars and political unrest everywhere and it's not safe for us to go as a small group. Hopefully one day in future I would be able to visit these ancient sites and they are still there, not destroyed by wars or natural disasters. P.S. The song sang by a woman in the background is amazing! It kept distracting me from listening to the words of the speaker. How wonderful singing it is! I wonder what language it is in and who the singer is.

[@user-yg1si6hu9y]

thank you sir

[@kieranryan2801]

Mr Robertson thanks for recommending this great vid

[@gulzaminahmedpowersportsom6226]

Awesome presentation

[@MrGaborseres]

Utterly fascinating 😮👍 Thanks for bringing it to us 👍

[@halalthanos2564]

this is good i guess im learning this from my ancient history class

[@snowleopard1850]

A wonderful, extraordinary documentary! I would like to see more of this type of documentary. It is interesting that you say that discovering the tomb of queen Puabe is the most important discovery in archeology when most of the people are swarming for king Tut's grave. I think it is because most people are fascinated by Egypt. But the tomb of the queen Puabe surpasses everything. This documentary was fascinating.

[@cattymajiv]

Tut himself was not very important at all, only his tomb goods were important, because of the rarity of finding ANY egyptian king's tomb goods.

[@Einya-Leela-Maeve]

The garden off eden, so beautiful. Thank you!

[@cjjuddaustralianartist]

You only ever hear about the ziggurat, not a word about the ziggumouse though!

[@marko-qg4gc]

The ziggumouse was eaten by the ziggucat.

[@cjjuddaustralianartist]

@@marko-qg4gc That does it! I'm calling the ziggudog.

[@bethbartlett5692]

This is so well done - I would love to have a Library of these works! Fabulous short -

[@bethbartlett5692]

@@sg145 My comment is in reference to the video/documentary. The artifacts belong to the world, one can only hope they are held with a reverence, informed history, and in respect of the individual original owner. Materialism is the drug of the Ego Mind, Understanding and Compassion is the harmony of the Higher Mind, Judgemental is a symptom of youth, and those whom lack facts and are abundant in fear. Search the Universal Law of Attraction and know it is "absolute".

[@MsTeaRex]

Great video!

[@bluefisshh2377]

What about the antediluvian high-tech Sumerian artifacts found there? What happened to them? Why did U.S army send a brigade and tanks to this ziggurat? Only to protect some historical cuneiforms?

[@protegemoi9819]

Baghdad Stargate

[@kentkearney6623]

Gilgamesh D.N.A. Cern Clinton and Cheney

[@dr.brandileebunge]

Absolutely stunning & beautiful narrated video.✨💗👌

[@Romeo2048]

Incredibly well done 👍🏿 thank you

[@rooktheradical1]

Very well done! 😃

[@snorthsnorth6480]

A fine presentation!

[@santosdias2487]

amazing documentary

[@JeffM---]

Thank you so much, that was very interesting.

[@FabledCity]

It's so helpful that you take a moment to mention its present day Arabic name because no one here refers to the site as "Ur" from whom I've met so far. The guy at my hotel here in Nasiriyyah had no idea what I was referring to even while speaking Arabic but using the place name Ur.

[@juiceizinfinite]

thank you!

[@chaoticpuppet1]

my ancestor. very fascinating.

[@ajayindiana]

very nice...thanks for sharing

[@merci814]

Very informative and interesting! I stumbled upon this in my search for wisdom literature.

[@MrScottytoohottie]

nice informative video. and nice place. ive been there. thanks.

[@fentynolfloyd5558]

amazing info& vid

[@rossjohnson1199]

Fantastic, a great doco.

[@AgnesTemesvaritothkasa]

Very valuable!!save!!!

[@jeffreyyounger5772]

Thank for showing the birthplace of ur, prophet abraham in the bible I love 💘 history!

[@jimsquick]

Beautiful.

[@julianroybal4843]

Well that is so amazing and scary at the same time but that ribbon in that girl's hand it meant something more she would have had time to put it on

[@TWOCOWS1]

Fabulous production. Thank you. I am wondering how deep those pits were that he dug? Peoples/diggers are descending into those pits on several layers of stairs. Seem to be at least 70 feet deep. How did he guess the existence of such tombs so deep into the ground??

[@dennisoconnor61]

Rejoice and be glad

[@caroldelaney4700]

What a wonderful journey into the past

[@matthewmonsour9802]

Does anybody else think that when north africa had a huge shallow lake and regular rain that this area may have looked alot different as well?

[@jeancharles9610]

what an extraordinary treasure

[@thegriffin88]

Very nice, on par if not nicer than the Penn museum's one.

[@andresmata4949]

Great voice over Sid!

[@asiakusy]

.

[@tallthinwavy3]

Very good. Any more going to be made ?

[@denvernonis4127]

What a discovery , tireless efferts made by the the two , to bring back to life "the lost world " . While finding brings interest the gold carving work , the musical instruments used during that time . Well just touching a bit on how fabric n colours , wood used , computer fed images like , designs ,hight , weight , in how to bring back to life the dresses ,jewellery etc

[@wizzardofpaws2420]

Fantistic discoveries of ancient people!

[@KoolT]

Moon Gods, wow. Something new for me.

[@user-lb7vn9nl6j]

العراق بلد الحضارات وأول حضارة للبشرية في أور. الناصرية

[@protegemoi9819]

You’d think Jews ,Christians, and Muslim peoples would unite. Abraham was from UR.

[@cattymajiv]

@@protegemoi9819 Humanity is too warlike. It's suprising that Europe has actually managed to overcome it, so far!

[@Iherdit2day]

This is a lovely presentation and well produced. Thank you for sharing, I felt I got to meet Willie personally. 😌

[@pagen5219]

i think once way back in b.c it was peaceful place and people and then bad people began taking them over,

[@rahuls8764]

They sure loved their lapaslazly 😊

[@koksalceylan3934]

Wooly was great man.

[@puhigeoffreywaynefuimaonok8656]

Ur is the short version for "Uri" the maori word for offspring or descendents

[@sasabelle140]

Ur as a prefix means in german, something long time ago, something preserved in original state or the oldest tracable. The word offspring in german - Ursprung - even contains the word Ur and the word jump.

[@prakashjeyakumar5014]

@@sasabelle140 ur is a tamil word which means village/town/city . Ur is a tamil word. Eg:Melur, keelur, thiruvilliputhur, cuddalore, thanjavur, koodalur, perungalathur, punalur, paranur, vandalur.

[@cattymajiv]

@@prakashjeyakumar5014 German and Tamil languages both descended from the PIE language, or Proto Indo European language. Google it!

[@duantorruellas716]

i remember reading an article in a magazine about this queen they found , lapis and gold and pitch everywhere , and no sign of ancient technology accept the wheels on the ox cart .

[@cynthiamclaglen5687]

The Sumerians brought knowledge of the Planets, Mathematics, and the number of days in a year and the leap year. They also wrote the first known story, which was of Gilgamesh, the oldest story on earth: Human Beings search for what happens to our loved ones and to us when we die through the story of Gilgamesh and his love for Enkidu. Cynthia McLaglen

[@duantorruellas716]

@@cynthiamclaglen5687 that's right , spot on. This was knowledge , and many people find it hard to believe that people were that smart back then but they were.

[@JS-jh4cy]

When are they ever going to dna analysis of the queen of Ur

[@kentkearney6623]

Will be used for evil....you should be con CERNed.

[@amongusman7471]

cool

[@christine6078]

Is there a transcription of this video or the same video with subtitles available?

[@tonystoughton3201]

the music is too loud and annoying

[@snowmiaow]

I saw the crown at an exhibit in Cleveland, Ohio. It was labeled incorrectly as a headdress because l don't think they could handle the idea of a queen, only a king. It was very large, and clearly it is the crown of a queen, and meant to be seen at a distance. The leaves and flowers probably fluttered in the breeze. They were really into bulls. The craftsmanship was exquisite. The animal in the thicket was interesting because that was also in the Bible symbolizing the end of human sacrifice, with animals substituted. I am so glad l got to see the exhibit.

[@mariaperetto34]

Music is too high and comprehession becomes difficult.

[@kevanphillips]

been there

[@frankmarter6845]

Those graves should have been left inviolate. The cost of opening them will be terrible.

[@sebastianvonmybourg4174]

Fab

[@lindseymikash6057]

I'd like to share this video with the students in my college art history course, however there are no captions. Can you please enable captions to make this video accessible? Thank you!

[@rupiah9296]

Ur ancient known in Bible which Abraham started from

[@ashorhanepal4529]

Can you explain about Uruk?

[@ahmedalsumeri5133]

I live near of in nasiriyah

[@VicariousReality7]

My city positioned exactly like Ur

[@mustafaabbas252]

+VicariousReality7 Those who wish to visit this city will offer him help I live this city and its access is very safe

[@mustafaabbas252]

+VicariousReality7 Those who wish to visit this city will offer him help I live this city and its access is very safe

[@tertommy]

Wire - The Queen Of Ur And The King Of Um

[@sandman93449dm]

Just so informative and interesting..thank you.

[@absoluteharmony44]

🤯🖤

[@islaannisainsworth4443]

Where did they get the pich from?? No trees seem to be found anywhere. I do understand we are talking T of years ago. Do you have any info on that? Please share. Ty.

[@cynthiamclaglen5687]

There are tar pits, just like places where there is oil. Cynthia Allen McLaglen

[@kentkearney6623]

Also great Cedar forests where Gilgamesh fought and won.

[@farielzouioueche2180]

La musique est désagréable,c bien dommage,il manque les sous titres.

[@geulagarden7765]

Sarah Kelly, did you know that Indiana Jones was modeled after an archaeologist named Vendyl Jones? He became a noahide after many of his discoveries. Just want to say I love all your comments they're spot-on.

[@ThoraThoraThoraThora2012]

“1939 óta kérelmezem a Magyar Tudományos Akadémiát, hogy küldjön nekem egy magyar nyelvészt. A Sumir nyelv - 7.000 éves volta dacára - ma is elképesztő egyezéseket mutat a mai magyar nyelvvel. Kutatásaim alapján tudom, hogy pl. nyelvtanát nézve a Sumi r nyelv 56 nyelvtani sajátosságából 53 megvan a mai magyar nyelvben.

[@user-et3ch3sm2b]

انا من العراق

[@hardwerkpayz6333]

Do you see the man sitting there looking down on the cover picture?

[@danielwarpaint1963]

Toot Uncommon.

[@lunacalderon8980]

😆 lol

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

Legendary sumeria

[@cattymajiv]

The name is Sumer, not Sumeria. The people were Sumerians. Just like there are Canadians and Italians, but no Canadia or Italia. There are Peruvians, but no Peruvia. Brazilians but no Brazilia, and many more.

[@aleenaporras6599]

please take thisz down so i dont have to do an essay on this

[@space_station_shenanigans514]

wonder why modern royalty is so interesting in ancient royalty hmmm.....

[@jamig.7254]

Question to the Iraqis: Why do you think that your country's importance came upon converting to Islam? Do you not know your ancient history? Do you not understand that your ancient ancestors began civilization as the world knows it today? Islam did not begin civilization, created law, architecture, astrology, math, geometry, writing, etc.. Embrace your heritage. You have so much to be proud of.

[@user-xl3bw3tm4k]

The Iraqis are proud of their Babylonian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian civilizations. Who told you that the Iraqis are not proud of their ancestors?

[@jamig.7254]

@@user-xl3bw3tm4k I was told by Iraqis that anything before Islam was not important.

[@snowmiaow]

All artifacts need 3D scans.

[@MsTeaRex]

Zecharia Sitchin proposed that Goddess Nin Puabi is Anunnaki. Grand daughter of Inanna. He made a last ditch effort to get the DNA by offering up his entire estate to anyone that could get the DNA preformed. I believe him to be spot on. I think that Mr. Sitchin was a man ahead of his time and will be proven right in all his writings.

[@hotcargirl]

Sitchin was a proven fraud. He only “studied “ the very problematic Isin Kings-list. There are more than just that particular one that are much more reliable.

[@wildwoodskimberlynewworldd5282]

👍👍👍👍👍