C. Leonard Woolley (1880–1960)
Author of The Sumerians
About the Author
Image credit: Woolley (left) and T. E. Lawrence at Carchemish. Image from Dead Towns and Living Men (1920) at the Internet Archive
Works by C. Leonard Woolley
Il mestiere dell'archeologo 2 copies
A Record of the Work Done by the Military Authorities for The Protection of the Treasures of Art and History in War… (1947) 2 copies
Carchemish: report on the excavations at Djerabis by C. Lenoard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence, Part 1 (1969) 2 copies
The Sumerians (Norton Library) by Woolley, Charles Leonard(September 17, 1965) Paperback (1602) 2 copies
The Young Archaeologist 2 copies
UR 1 copy
konsten i mellersta östern 1 copy
Digging Up the Past 1 copy
History Unearthed 1 copy
Digging up the Past 1 copy
Het Midden-Oosten 1 copy
Karanóg, the town 1 copy
Sir Leonard Wooley,... Ur en Chaldée : Ou Sept années de fouilles. Traduction de Jeanne Rogier,...… (1949) 1 copy
Medio Oriente 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Woolley, Sir Charles Leonard
- Birthdate
- 1880-04-17
- Date of death
- 1960-02-20
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Hackney, London, England, UK
- Place of death
- London, England, UK
- Education
- University of Oxford (New College)
St. John's School, Leatherhead - Occupations
- archaeologist
author
historian - Relationships
- Woolley, Geoffrey Harold (brother)
- Organizations
- Ashmolean Museum
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Subcommission - Awards and honors
- Knighthood (1935)
Croix de Guerre - Short biography
- Charles Leonard Woolley was born in the London borough of Hackney. He was educated at St. John's School and Oxford University, where he decided to become an archeologist. In 1905, he became assistant keeper (curator) of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. He began his archeological career the following year. Woolley's pioneering discoveries and scholarship became the basis of our modern understanding of Mesopotamian civilization, and made him world-famous. In 1930, he published Ur of the Chaldees, which became the best-selling book on an archaeological subject. He was knighted in 1935.
Members
Reviews
Very interesting, readable look into archaeology in the early 20th century. I usually steer clear of archaeology and history books that weren't more recently published because so much changes in terms of how different fields approach their work, but it's an interesting venture in terms of historiography and was a fun read.
A nice little book. The illustrations show some of my favourite objects in the British Museum: The Ram in the Thicket, The Game Boards and the Standard of Ur.
The short section on royal burial sacrificial was particularly interesting.
The short section on royal burial sacrificial was particularly interesting.
I've long been fascinated by Sumer, "Land Between the Two Rivers," in what is now modern-day Iraq. It is possibly the world's oldest civilization, with the earliest form of writing, some of the oldest cities, and earliest uses of agriculture. Sumerian literature and legal codes might be the source for much of Hebrew scripture, such as the Creation and Flood narratives. Recently, when I was reading a book of women poets, I learned that Princess En-khedu-anna of Sumer, a priestess and poet, (briefly mentioned in Woolley's book) has been accredited as the first author we know by name.
So obviously Sumer has a unique fascination as a root for human civilization. Yet I found little in bookstores--this seemed the one book I could find actually focused on Sumer. There is no introduction to this book, and no clue on the back cover as to date, and the title page says only that this edition was first published in 1965. I was disappointed to find out online this was first published in 1929. (It's age was particularly evident in how the book treats "race" and "decadence.") Unfortunately, looking at the books tagged "Sumer" on Librarything I can't find a book much more recent or authoritative--the only books higher on the list are apparently 50 years old.
Woolley, on the other hand, at least can be said to have known his stuff. He led the excavation of Ur of the Chaldees that established it was 3,500 years old, rivaling ancient Egypt in antiquity. I'm not sorry I bought the book and have decided to keep it on my bookshelves. It's loaded with maps and illustrations and there are tantalizing details, such as the existence of a woman ruler, Ku-Bau (Kubaba) of Kish on the Sumerian king-lists and the fascinating figure of Sargon of Akkad, with a claim to have ruled the first empire. Wooley points out that the Sumerians had such features of architecture as the arch, the vault, the dome that wouldn't be seen in the West for thousands of years. And many of the details of Sumerian society, however dryly presented, were intriguing. So, although I was at times frustrated not to have a more current book, still I think worth a read if you're interested in this ancient civilization, and this did whet my appetite for more. And if anyone has any suggestions on what to read next about these fascinating people, I'd sure be open to suggestions.… (more)
So obviously Sumer has a unique fascination as a root for human civilization. Yet I found little in bookstores--this seemed the one book I could find actually focused on Sumer. There is no introduction to this book, and no clue on the back cover as to date, and the title page says only that this edition was first published in 1965. I was disappointed to find out online this was first published in 1929. (It's age was particularly evident in how the book treats "race" and "decadence.") Unfortunately, looking at the books tagged "Sumer" on Librarything I can't find a book much more recent or authoritative--the only books higher on the list are apparently 50 years old.
Woolley, on the other hand, at least can be said to have known his stuff. He led the excavation of Ur of the Chaldees that established it was 3,500 years old, rivaling ancient Egypt in antiquity. I'm not sorry I bought the book and have decided to keep it on my bookshelves. It's loaded with maps and illustrations and there are tantalizing details, such as the existence of a woman ruler, Ku-Bau (Kubaba) of Kish on the Sumerian king-lists and the fascinating figure of Sargon of Akkad, with a claim to have ruled the first empire. Wooley points out that the Sumerians had such features of architecture as the arch, the vault, the dome that wouldn't be seen in the West for thousands of years. And many of the details of Sumerian society, however dryly presented, were intriguing. So, although I was at times frustrated not to have a more current book, still I think worth a read if you're interested in this ancient civilization, and this did whet my appetite for more. And if anyone has any suggestions on what to read next about these fascinating people, I'd sure be open to suggestions.… (more)
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 52
- Members
- 1,298
- Popularity
- #19,787
- Rating
- 3.4
- Reviews
- 12
- ISBNs
- 43
- Languages
- 4
This is a short introduction to Archaeology, explaining its purpose, cultural importance, method, and an idea of the difficulties involved and the ingenuity required for success. A good deal of the excitement of archaeology is communicated, not only from the discovery of artefacts but also in terms of the insights gained into the lives and culture of people across society in civilisations that have long ceased to exist.
Leonard Woolley was one of the major archaeologists of the early 20th century, and has plenty of first hand tales from his digs to illustrate the points made in the book. In addition to this, there are also about 30 pages of photos and drawings.
This is a well written and easy to read volume that could easily be finished in an afternoon. For anyone without expert knowledge of the topic it is a great introduction that pre-empts many of the questions that might be otherwise have been asked. As well as making me want to read more accounts of achaeological discovery, it also gave me an interest in the field work aspect that the author explains here.… (more)