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Archaeology Confirms the BibleThe Watchtower—1980 | October 1
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The Bible informs us that Abraham (then called Abram) was raised in “Ur of the Chaldeans.” (Gen. 11:27, 28) Is this a legendary site? What have the picks and shovels of the archaeologists revealed? As early as 1854, J. E. Taylor tentatively identified Ur with Tell el-Muqayyar (“Mound of Bitumen”), just a few miles west of the Euphrates. In 1869, French Orientalist Jules Oppert gave a report at the Collège de France, in Paris, definitely identifying the site with Ur, on the basis of cuneiform-inscribed clay cylinders found there by Taylor. Then, much later, from 1922 to 1934, British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley not only confirmed this identification but also discovered that the Ur left by Abraham was a flourishing and highly civilized city with comfortable houses and a huge temple tower, or ziggurat, dedicated to the worship of the moon-god Nanna, or Sin. Historians had long expressed doubts about the city of Ur mentioned in the Bible in connection with Abraham. But the archaeologist’s spade proved the Bible to be true.
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Archaeology Confirms the BibleThe Watchtower—1980 | October 1
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[Picture on page 6]
Ziggurat uncovered in Ur of ancient Chaldea
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