BOOBY TRAPS AND CURSES Over the centuries despite the best attempts of the tomb builders to stop them thieves and robbers have plundered many tombs In ancient Egypt the builders of the great pyramids where pharaohs kings were buried tried lots of tricks to keep the robbers out Entrances into the Egyptian tombs were hidden and sealed Inside there were secret passages concealed doors and dead ends Razor-sharp wires laid as traps across tunnels were capable of slicing a thief s head off If the robbers did get into the tomb itself grim curses doomed them to terrible punishments in the afterlife
None of this seemed to stop their missions to steal though Eye in the sky Some places are difficult to explore on the ground Lots of ancient remains are in hot deserts or in countries that are dangerous to visit Using photographs taken from airplanes and satellite images archaeologists can spot possible sites from marks and patterns on the ground that can only be seen from the sky Of course if they want to find out more they still have to get to the site and explore further
ROYAL TOMBS OF UR It is some time around 2000 BCE On the banks of the Euphrates River in the region called Mesopotamia stands a city made of mud bricks Its name is Ur Around it is rich and fertile farmland watered by the great river Flash forward 3,000 years All that is left of Ur are a few ruins surrounded by hot desert It was these ruins that brought British archaeologist Charles Leonard Woolley to Iraq in 1922 Woolley had permission to start excavations at the site of the ancient city He and his team began digging in 1923 Little did they know that their work at the site was to continue for another 11 years Mesopotamia meaning land between rivers was the name given to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which today lies mostly in Iraq
GREAT ZIGGURAT OF UR DIGGING STARTS Woolley started excavating near the ruined Great Ziggurat see the picture at left His workers uncovered the ruins of ancient buildings human burials and precious jewelry But by March the desert was too hot for them to continue digging Woolley went back to England eager to return in the fall when it would be cool enough for work to start again
