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| Present-day Ur Site (Photo by M. Lubinski) |
Ur Kasdim (often called "Ur of the Chaldeans" or just plain "Ur") is mentioned a number of times in the Tanakh (within Genesis 11:28, 11:31, 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7). Although
it's not specifically stated that Abraham was born in Ur, many assume that he was because of biblical passages like these. However, there remains much debate about where Abraham was from and where Ur Kasdim was located.
Wikipedia tells us that Ur "was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyer in Iraq's Dhi Qar
Governate." Famed British archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley was convinced that Ur was indeed synonymous with Ur Kasdim and pointed out that the Chaldeans had settled there "around the 9th century BCE." In the course of excavating royal cemeteries at this site, Woolley discovered tombs with "large paintings of ancient Sumerian culture at its zenith, along with gold and
silver jewelry, cups and other furnishings."
Sinan Salaheddin of the Associated Press recently reported that British archaeologists are still digging away in that region.
The current big news is that they have "unearthed a sprawling complex near the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq…" Stuart Campbell, leader of the excavation, called this a "breathtaking find," mainly because "complexes of this size [about 260 feet on each side] and age are rare." He
theorized that it might have been either a place of worship or an administrative building.
Is that where Abraham's father Terach might have drawn inspiration for the idols that he allegedly made? We
don't know. Perhaps further digging will yield more answers to the questions that have tugged at souls for centuries…
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur_Kasdim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur
http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-unearthed-iraqi-home-abraham-133308421.html
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