FOR THE MARVEL OF THE BEHOLDERS

In Ur of the Chaldees, Leonard Woolley found the ruins of a School.

One room was set aside as a Museum and had 1600 year old objects with terracotta labels inscribed:

'For the Marvel of the Beholder'

The ruins of the great Hall of justice (E-Dubal-mah) at "Ur of the Chaldees," as seen from the south corner.

In 'Ur of the Chaldees' by Sir Leonard Woolley he describes the finding of, perhaps, the world's oldest Museum. The building E-Gig-Par was given by King Nabondicus to his high priestess, his daughter Bel-Shalti-Nannar (sister of the Belshazzar involved in the 'Writing on the Wall' episode -see the Book of Daniel).

One room contained round clay tablets - with good text on one side which was copied, but to a poorer standard on the other - interpreted as being exercise pieces - and the room as a school.

Kassite Boundary stone from the Museum

The room next to the School room had objects which were centuries old - a boundary stone from 1400BC. a fragment of a statue of King Dunga dating to 2280BC, and other similar objects. All this in a room dating to the sixth century BC!

The most informative object was a clay drum shaped object (see picture to right) which had 3 columns of writing in Ancient Summerian but one column in late Semitic which contained the following text:

'These, are copies from bricks found in the ruins of Ur, the work of Bur-Sin, King of Ur, which while searching for the ground-plan (of the Temple) the Governor of Ur found, and I saw and wrote out for the marvel of beholders'

Clay Label from Museum