The archaeological discovery of the famous Royal Cemetery of Ur, containing the 'Standard of Ur', exquisite gold head-dresses, and the lyres of Ur, was excavated in the 1920s by:
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Sir Leonard Woolley
- Step 1: Between 1922 and 1934, a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum excavated the ancient Sumerian city of Ur under Sir Leonard Woolley.
- Step 2: Woolley discovered 1,800 graves including sixteen royal tombs (notably Tomb of Queen Puabi), yielding the lapis lazuli and shell inlaid 'Standard of Ur' depicting scenes of War and Peace.
Answer
Sir Leonard Woolley
Why not the others: 'Sir Mortimer Wheeler' Wheeler was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India who applied the grid-square method at Harappa and Arikamedu; 'Austen Henry Layard' Layard excavated the ancient Assyrian ruins of Nineveh and Nimrud in northern Mesopotamia in the 1840s; 'Paul-Émile Botta' Botta was a French consular diplomat who excavated Khorsabad, the palace of Sargon II.
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