Excavations at the cemetery revealed around 2,000 private graves and sixteen tombs identified as royal, dating mainly to the Early Dynastic II period (circa 2600–2350 BCE). The private burials were modest, with bodies placed in coffins or reed wrappings and accompanied by pottery and small goods. The royal tombs, by contrast, were elaborate brick-built structures containing chambers filled with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and carnelian ornaments, as well as weapons, vessels, and musical instruments.

These tombs were also marked by adjacent “death pits”, where groups of attendants were interred, apparently sacrificed to serve their rulers in the afterlife. The Great Death Pit (PG 1237) contained seventy-four bodies, most of them women adorned with jewelry and some buried with lyres. The most famous intact burial was that of Queen Puabi (PG 800), whose body was richly adorned and whose seal identified her royal status. Other finds included inscribed items naming rulers such as Meskalamdug and Ninbanda. Stratigraphy showed continuous use of the site from the Jemdet Nasr period (circa 3100–2900 BCE) through the Akkadian period (circa 2334–2154 BCE), making the cemetery one of the most important sources for understanding the development of funerary practices in early Mesopotamia.

circa 3100-2100 BCE

The Royal Cemetery of Ur belongs to the period of the Early Dynastic city-states of southern Mesopotamia, when Ur was emerging as a major political and religious center. The principal royal tombs date to the Early Dynastic II phase, circa 2600–2350 BCE, a time of competing dynasties and expanding urban networks in Sumer. The individuals buried in these tombs are associated with the First Dynasty of Ur, one of the earliest known ruling houses of the city, though precise identifications remain uncertain. Cylinder seals and inscribed artifacts recovered from the cemetery name figures such as Meskalamdug, Ninbanda, and Akalamdug, providing rare historical references to rulers otherwise absent from the later Sumerian King List.

The use of the site as a burial ground predated the royal tombs. Beneath the Early Dynastic layers were burials dating to the Jemdet Nasr period (circa 3100–2900 BCE) and Early Dynastic I (circa 2900–2600 BCE), while later levels included graves of the Akkadian period (circa 2334–2154 BCE). This long stratigraphic sequence shows that the area served as a cemetery for nearly a thousand years, evolving from a place of simple interments to a locus of royal display and cultic ritual before eventually continuing as a burial ground under new political regimes.

circa 3100-2100 BCE

Tomb PG 1236
The tomb designated PG 1236, a monumental twin tomb within the Royal Cemetery of Ur, is regarded as the largest and probably the earliest of the royal structures, dated to circa 2600 BCE. It has been tentatively associated with A-Imdugud (𒀀𒀭𒅎𒂂, A-dim.dugud-mušen), also read Aja-Anzu, an early king of the First Dynasty of Ur named after the deity Imdugud. This attribution rests on the discovery of an inscribed seal bearing his name within the tomb.

The burial yielded several significant artifacts. Two cylinder seals were particularly notable: one depicted a banquet scene with the inscription Gan-Ekiga(k), while the other showed a nude hero battling lions alongside a war scene comparable to the imagery of the Standard of Ur, and carried the name Aja-Anzu/A-Imdugud. The latter closely resembles the seal of Mesannepada, another early king of Ur. Additional finds included sheets of gold leaf decorated with embossed designs, a reconstructed gold scepter, and another royal staff, underscoring the tomb’s high status and ceremonial importance.

Tomb PG 779
The tomb or grave PG 779 is one of the earliest monumental burials in the Royal Cemetery of Ur and has been widely associated with King Ur-Pabilsag (𒌨𒀭𒉺𒉋𒊕, ur-dpa-bil₂-sag), an early ruler of the First Dynasty of Ur during the 26th century BCE. Although Ur-Pabilsag does not appear in the Sumerian King List, his historicity is supported by an inscription fragment found at Ur which explicitly names him “Ur-Pabilsag, king of Ur.” Based on this evidence, Woolley and subsequent scholars have proposed PG 779 as his burial place. The king is thought to have died around 2550 BCE.

PG 779 is generally regarded as the second-oldest royal tomb at the site, following PG 1236, and is considered contemporary with PG 777, which is believed to have been the tomb of his queen. The dynasty continued through his son, Meskalamdug, who is associated with either PG 755 or PG 789. This succession suggests that the earliest phase of the cemetery was closely tied to the establishment of the First Dynasty of Ur and its consolidation of power.

Among the finds from PG 779 were some of the most celebrated artifacts of Sumerian archaeology. The tomb produced the famous Standard of Ur, a trapezoidal box inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, depicting vivid scenes of warfare and ritual banqueting. Decorated shell plaques were also uncovered, bearing motifs of military and ceremonial life that parallel the iconography of the cylinder seals from the same period. These finds not only highlight the craftsmanship of Early Dynastic Ur but also provide rare narrative imagery that sheds light on the political authority and courtly life of its rulers.

PG 755 (Tomb of Prince Meskalamdug)
Grave PG 755 is a relatively modest burial in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, lacking the monumental architecture and sacrificial attendants that characterize the great royal tombs. Despite its simplicity, it has long been associated with Meskalamdug (𒈩𒌦𒄭, mes-kalam-dug, “hero of the good land”), an early ruler of the First Dynasty of Ur. The identification rests primarily on the discovery of inscribed objects bearing his name, most notably a golden helmet, though the grave’s small scale has led some scholars to suggest that it may instead have belonged to a prince—possibly a son of Meskalamdug—rather than the king himself.

The finds from PG 755 are nonetheless significant. Among the artifacts were numerous gold ornaments, personal items of high craftsmanship, and the celebrated golden helmet inscribed with the name of Meskalamdug. The workmanship of these objects demonstrates the extraordinary technical skill of Ur’s metalworkers and the wealth at the disposal of its elite in the mid-third millennium BCE. The helmet, hammered from a single sheet of gold and carefully chased to imitate rivets and metal fittings, exemplifies the symbolic, rather than purely practical, role of such regalia.

The position of Meskalamdug within Ur’s early dynasty remains partly uncertain, but most reconstructions suggest that he was the father of Mesannepada, the first ruler of Ur recorded in the Sumerian King List and attested in numerous inscriptions. If PG 755 indeed belonged to Meskalamdug, it would place him as one of the foundational figures of Ur’s royal line, bridging the transition between the earlier rulers such as Ur-Pabilsag and the dynasty that brought Ur into the center of Sumerian political life. Even if the burial is that of a princely figure bearing the same name, the wealth of the tomb underscores the prosperity of Ur during this formative period.

The Great Death Pit (PG 1237)
The so-called Great Death Pit, designated PG 1237 by Woolley, is one of the “death pits” in the Royal Cemetery of Ur—burials without a tomb chamber— notable for the large number of individuals interred together and the richness of accompanying grave goods. Woolley excavated it in the course of his work from 1926–1933.

This pit contained 74 bodies: six men and sixty-eight women. The men were found near the entrance of the pit, equipped with weapons, suggesting a role as guards or attendants to defend or accompany the royal burial. The women were arranged in neat rows, particularly along the northwest corner of the pit, many of them wearing elaborate ornaments—headdresses, jewelry made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and carnelian.

Among the artifacts associated with PG 1237 are musical instruments: multiple lyres were placed near some of the women toward the southeast wall of the pit. There are also remains of jewelry and items linked to personal adornment, such as shell-cups or shells containing pigments, found with many of the women.

Woolley interpreted the Great Death Pit as part of a funerary complex where attendants were sacrificed or otherwise killed in connection with the interment of a king or queen, so that these attendants might accompany the principal individual into the afterlife. Some scholars have debated whether these people were voluntary participants, sacrificed, or whether some may have died by other means.

The date of death pit PG 1237 is within the period of the Early Dynastic II, roughly circa 2600–2500 BCE. The Great Death Pit remains one of the clearest and most dramatic pieces of evidence at Ur for attendant or retainer burials performed at the same time as elite tombs. It is frequently cited in discussions of human sacrifice in Mesopotamia because there are no other comparable examples of this scale within the region’s known burial practices.

circa 2600-2400 BCE

Standard of Ur
The so-called Standard of Ur despite its name, the object is not a standard in the military sense but a hollow wooden trapezoidal box, approximately 21.6 centimeters high, 49.5 centimeters long, and 24 centimeters wide. Its surfaces are inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, forming detailed mosaic panels that provide critical insight into Sumerian social, political, and military life during the Early Dynastic III period.