The Valley of Tombs
Not really so much a Valley as it is a Wadi of Tombs. It is a few hundred yards from the Ziggurat and has been covered in many areas with concrete or pitch to keep people out. Every tomb has been raided so there is nothing there as far as artifacts except that it is covered with more pottery shards that I have ever seen in any one location. I was just amazed at how many I saw and just plain walked on.
The entire area is zoned with concertina wire to keep personnel out. We did not cross over the wire as the last thing I wanted to see was some zealous USAF SP (Air Force MP) pop up from behind something and want to give me a hard time. As I stated yesterday, it is restricted access and you must have the base commander's permission to visit. We had it but were not challenged the entire time we were there.
It would be interesting to know who is buried here. I assume these chambers age back as far as the Ziggurat itself but there was no one to tell me, no signage save some in Arabic, and no research material I have found states otherwise. I have to admit i have let my imagination run and imagine Abraham walking these very same sands. maybe it was him who dropped the clay jug at my feet.This last shot is of the top of the Ziggurat. We were warned not to climb it so we didn't but I took this with a 300mm telephoto lens. You can see some detail and this must be the condition it was in when they first excavated it back in the 1800's.
Tomorrow - The Pottery Waterfall
2 Comments:
It is funny you mention the Air Force MP's. I was at Ceder II when they accused me of not stopping at a stop sign - in the middle of the desert!? The one who wrote the ticket got a little upset when I told him there is no way he could say if I did or not as his head was in his partners lap! Col. Cobb With AAFES in Camp Liberty had a few choice words for them but in the end it helped me to say, enough. I left out of Talill on a mail convoy about two months later.
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