Ur Archaeological Site

Ur is an ancient Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia, in present-day Dhi Qar Governorate, known for its well-preserved monumental ziggurat and early urban remains. It was a leading city-state in the third and early second millennia BCE.

The site is dominated by the restored Ziggurat of Ur, a large mudbrick stepped temple platform that is the primary tourist focus. Excavated palace and cemetery areas produced richly furnished royal tombs and hundreds of artifacts now held in museums.

Collections from Ur include objects of precious metal, cylinder seals and inscribed tablets that document administrative and ritual life in ancient Sumer. The Royal Cemetery and associated finds remain among the most important archaeological discoveries for the study of early urban Mesopotamia.

Ur rose to prominence in the third millennium BCE under native Sumerian dynasties and rulers such as Ur-Nammu, who is credited with early building activity at the ziggurat site. Modern archaeological work in the 1920s and 1930s by teams led by Sir Leonard Woolley revealed the cemetery and large parts of the city.

The ruins of Ur lie in southern Iraq in Dhi Qar Governorate, in a flat alluvial plain where the ancient city once stood near the Euphrates and the modern town of Nasiriyah.

• Visible monument: The ziggurat is the site’s most visible structure and underwent conservation work in the 20th century to stabilise its mudbrick core and outer facings.

What to See#

• Ziggurat of Ur: The monumental multi-tiered ziggurat near the centre of the tell, originally constructed in the 21st century BCE and conserved as the site’s principal visible monument.
• Royal Cemetery of Ur: A cluster of burial mounds and excavation areas where early 3rd-millennium BCE royal tombs and grave goods were uncovered during early 20th-century excavations.