Discovery of the Standard of Ur
Descubrimiento del Estandarte de Ur
- Date
- 1927-1928 · confidence high
- Place
- Ur, Dhi Qar, Iraq
- Credited to
- Leonard Woolley
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Woolley excavated in the Royal Cemetery of Ur a wooden box inlaid with shell, limestone and lapis lazuli, dating to around 2550 BC, which he interpreted as a military standard; the object's real function remains unconfirmed.
Wikidata's warning ("date incompatible with the person") reflected the confusion between the object's manufacture date (c. 2550 BC) and its discovery date (1927-1928, by Woolley, 1880-1960). Here the archaeological milestone is recorded by its excavation date, not its manufacture date.
What it led to
- Key iconographic reference on Sumerian society (war and peace scenes)
- Debate over its real function (instrument box, chest)
- Boost to interwar Mesopotamian archaeology