13th CSSB visits Ancient Ur

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers with the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), were recently afforded the opportunity to visit the Ziggurat of Ur, located just outside of Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, was once used in the worship of the moon goddess Urim, for which the town, Ur, is named. (Photo by: Capt. Mark Johnston)  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

03.06.2011

Courtesy Story

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

By: Capt. Mark Johnston

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — The 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), through the leadership of the battalion’s Unit Ministry Team, recently visited the Ziggurat of Ur, located just outside of Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

Nineteen 13th CSSB soldiers made the trip to the ancient city.

Ur was the home of the patriarch Abraham, father of Isaac and Ishmael, and through them, Judaism, Christianity and Islam developed. Ur, which is now located approximately 200 miles from the Arabian Gulf, was once an important port city. The site was abandoned in 550 B.C. due to the silting from the Euphrates River that filled the harbor with millions of tons of eroded soil over the centuries. The Ziggurat there was used in the worship of the moon goddess Urim, for which the town, Ur, was named.

“I was amazed that we could actually walk into the ruins themselves,” said Capt. James Fisk, who served as the officer-in-charge for the trip. “This was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime trip,” he said. “Something to tell the grandkids about.”

Lt. Col. Anthony Bohn, commander of the 13th CSSB, supported the trip in order to help soldiers create “memory sets” to take home with them. He explained that it would be unfortunate for soldiers to miss out on such an experience.

The ground around the site was strewn with hundreds of potsherds discarded over thousands of years. Mr. Diaf, the caretaker and guide, explained in detail the tomb of the Sumerian king discovered by Sir Charles Leonard Woolley from Pennsylvania University, and excavated between 1922 and 1934.

Much, if not most, of the site remains unexplored.

Mr. Diaf explained that the two tombs there contained many artifacts, including a golden lyre, that are now located in the Babylonian Museum. He also explained that the king’s body was found in one of the immense tombs along with 35 servants, while the other tomb contained the remaining 35 servants. He showed soldiers cuneiform writing from 4,000 years ago and the extensive sewage system they used during that time.

“It taught me that, while we may think we are a lot more intelligent than people were back then, that is just not the case,” said Spc. Paul Aguilera, a soldier with the 13th CSSB.

• Date Taken: 03.06.2011
• Date Posted: 03.06.2011 03:15
• Story ID: 66553
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ