New Monumental Structure Uncovered Near Ur  Bible and
archaeology news  The Standard of Ur  After nearly 80 years,
archaeologists have returned to one of the world’s most prolific
archaeology sites. While the site was initially excavated in the
1850s, Sir Leonard Woolley’s well-publicized 20th-century
excavations exposed valuable artifacts and thousands of years of
the Sumerian city-state’s history, spurring on associations with
Abraham’s birthplace, the Biblical Ur of the Chaldees (see
discussion below).  Archaeologists returning to Iraq have
uncovered a massive structure on the ancient banks of the
Euphrates River, ten miles from the city center. The recent
discovery’s monumental size—with nearly nine-foot-thick
walls—suggests that it was a palace or a temple. The team, led
by University of Manchester archaeologist Jane Moon, employs
techniques not available to Woolley and his team. Moon
identified the structure in satellite images, and so far her
team has only exposed a small section of the monumental comp