Woolley, Charles Leonard

(1880-1960)

   A noted British archaeologist who became one of the giants of Assyriology and Near Eastern studies and made some of the most sensational discoveries in the history of archaeology. Born in London, Woolley attended New College, Oxford, and then rapidly made a name for himself in the still-young science of archaeology. Shortly before the outbreak of World War I he engaged in major excavations at the site of the ancient Syrian city of Carchemish. There, he worked with the eccentric but brilliant British scholar, excavator, and adventurer T.E. Lawrence, who later became famous as "Lawrence of Arabia." Woolley also worked at Tell el-Amarna, in Egypt, site of the ancient city erected by the maverick pharaoh Akhenaten.

   Woolley's greatest and most memorable achievements came after the end of World War I. In 1922 he headed a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania in excavations at the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. During the next twelve years Woolley and his colleagues unearthed hundreds of ancient graves, including a number of tombs belonging to Sumerian royalty. The tomb of Queen Puabi and several others contained fabulous treasures, including jewelry, weapons, and other items made of gold and lapis lazuli. Woolley also investigated the great ziggurat at Ur and found evidence that he thought proved the reality of the great flood mentioned in the biblical book of Genesis.

   Upon his triumphant return to England in 1935, Woolley, now world famous, was knighted by the queen, becoming "Sir" Charles Leonard Woolley. He went on to lead important excavations in Syria from 1937 to 1939 and from 1946 to 1949. A superlative scholar and an excellent writer, Woolley published twenty-five books, many of which have gone through numerous reprints and are still available. Among the most popular were, and remain, The Sumerians (1928); Digging Up the Past (1930); Ur of the Chaldees (1938); Spade-work: Adventures in Archaeology (1953); and Excavations at Ur (1954).

   See also: flood legends; Ur; ziggurat