This mud brick was excavated at Ur of the Chaldees around 1925-1926, in the presence of Frank and Jean Siggers, and presented to Frank Siggers by either a British or American archaeologist. Presented to the Library in 1993 by Mrs Sheena Grant, nee Siggers, who included a brief history of the brick and her father's connections with the excavations at Ur.
The earliest written items held in the Library are two examples of the cuneiform script of ancient Sumeria. This clay tablet dating from approximately 600 BC, was unearthed in the early 1920s at excavations at the site of the Biblical 'Ur of the Chaldees' on the Euphrates River in modern day Iraq-ancient Sumeria.
Ur was known to have been a prosperous city-state at the mouth of the Euphrates as early as 3,800 BC. According to Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, this was the birthplace of Abraham, ancestor of both the Jews and of Muhammad. Archaeologists believe Ur was also the site of Noah's flood. The British Museum, together with the University of Pennsylvania and Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, began extensive excavations of the site in 1922. One of the earliest archaeologists in the area was Gertrude Bell, an intrepid and much travelled woman, who also assisted in the establishment of modern Iraq, worked with British Intelligence alongside Lawrence of Arabia, and established the Iraqi Museum. Frank Siggers met this "formidable woman" (in the words of his daughter) and it may have been Miss Bell who gave Siggers the inscribed brick.
The writing on the brick has been examined by Dr Jon Taylor of the British Museum. Dr Taylor was able to tell the Library that the inscription was made by a 'stamp' and contains the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (born c. 630—died c. 561 BC). The full text reads, 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Provisioner of Esagil and Ezida, the son, the foremost of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.' Bricks such as this were used to build the ziggurat at Ur, which was being excavated at the time that Frank Siggens was stationed in Iraq.
