Harriet Crawford is Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, and Reader Emerita at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK. Her published works include Sumer and the Sumerians (2004), Dilmun and its Gulf Neighbours (1998) and The Sumerian World (2012). She has excavated in Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria.
The remains of Ur in southern Iraq must rank among the most important archaeological sites in the world. Covering a period from the sixth millennium BC to the withdrawal of American troops following the Gulf War, Harriet Crawford provides a lively, authoritative and very welcome account of the excavations and the cultural and historical significance of one of the world's first cities. -- Paul Collins, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK This is a brisk and well-informed account of one of ancient Mesopotamia's most important early cities. Ur's wealth, global connections, and technological innovations are clearly described, and the challenges of the southern Mesopotamian environment are eloquently delineated. As well as writing a detailed biography of the extraordinary city of Ur, Dr Crawford gives us a quick history of archaeological discoveries and methods in South Iraq and an outline of Mesopotamia's cultural and historical developments, from the 6th through 1st millennium BC. -- Augusta McMahon, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Cambridge, UK