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Mesopotamia:
The Royal Tombs of Ur Mini Unit Study
The ancient city of Ur, mentioned in the Bible as the location
of the Garden of Eden and as the home of the patriarch Abraham,
was located in the region of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia, near
the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the Persian Gulf.
Ur was one of twenty such city-states flourishing in the valley
between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers between 2,900 and
2,350 B.C. The remains of the city are now inland in present-day
Iraq, near the city of Nasiriyah and south of Baghdad.
The royal tombs were discovered by C. Leonard Wooley in the 1920s,
around the time Howard Carter made headlines around the world
for the discovery of the tomb of King Tut. Each dig rivaled the
other for the major headlines of the day. 1,850 intact burial
sites were found, and Woolley estimated that two or three times
that number had originally existed in the area. The magnificent
art found in the tombs was created in preparation for the deceased’s
journey into the underworld.
In this mini unit study, you can: read about the historical background
of Ur, learn about the 1922 excavation of Ur by Sir Charles Leonard
Woolley, explore four of the royal tombs, examine a slideshow
of art objects found, look at maps of Mesopotamia and locate Ur,
conduct an Internet scavenger hunt for information on ancient
Sumer, and play the royal game of Ur. When you are finished, learn
how to make bread like a Mesopotamian!
P.S. If you live in or near the Houston area, an exhibit on the
Royal Tombs of Ur is at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
from Feb. 24 through Aug. 13, 2006.
Recommended
Resource
Gilgamesh the Hero
If you're studying the
Ancient Near East, try to pick up a copy of this version of the
Epic of Gilgamesh by Geraldine McCaughrean. She retells this Sumerian
story beautifully in a manner that adolescents will find both
enjoyable and accessible.
Book (Paperback)
Authors: Geraldine McCaughrean, David Parkins
Lists at: $16.01, Amazon Price: $10.89
Read
more about the book on Amazon
