Episode 5: Agatha Christie at Ur

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/ufpearth/hwts005

Today we are going to discuss the fascinating connection between Agatha Christie and the ancient Sumerian city of Ur.  Though Christie is best known as one of the most beloved mystery authors of the twentieth century, but she was also an amateur archeologist.  Christie was inspired by the travel and locations where she pursued this hobby to write some of her best books Death in Mesopotamia, Death on the Nile, and Murder on the Orient Express. 

The Sumerian city-state of Ur is located in what is now southern Iraq and was one of the major powers in the ancient world.  The city-state was situated at the mouth of the Euphrates River, where it empties into the Persian Gulf.  With abundant access to fresh water and massive agricultural production, the city-state grew into one of the largest settlements of the Sumerian Period.  In addition to the having ample harvests, the rulers of the ancient city also had access to some of the most sought-after trade routes. 

Ancient Mesopotamia was starved of natural resources such as building stone, semi-precious and precious gems, metals, and wood; they needed to conduct long-distance trade for these items.  Ur’s merchants had easy access to the contemporaneous ancient civilizations of Dilmun (modern day Bahrain), Magan (modern day Oman), and Meluhha (Indus Valley Civilization; Pakistan)  with whom they traded food and cloth  for such valuables as  lapis lazuli, carnelian, pearls, ivory, gold, silver, animals, and exotic types of wood.  The large amounts of those luxury goods found in royal tombs indicated the amount of wealth that was available to the rich families of Ur. 

Agatha Christie was invited to participate in digs by Leonard Woolley, a British archeologist contracted by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania to conduct excavations between 1922 and 1934.  Woolley and his wife, Katharine (also an archeologist), are celebrated among the first “modern” archeologists who made methodical excavations and kept highly detailed records instead of destroying a dig site trying to find a particular artifact.  Woolley was already familiar with the region from excavations conducted in Iraq and Syria between 1911-1914 while he worked as an espionage agent for the British Government.

The Woolleys made one of the most spectacular finds of the early twentieth century: the uncovering of the Royal Cemetery of the ancient city of Ur.  This excavation made Woolley the most celebrated archeologist in world; his accomplishment was only eclipsed by the discovery of King Tutankhamun by Howard Carter.  Woolley discovered over 1800 graves the Royal Cemetery, including the tomb of Queen Puabi.  Her tomb is one of the most spectacular finds in archeological history.  Puabi’s grave goods included a horse, lions, a chariot, and numerous pieces of jewelry, beaded capes, musical instruments, weapons, and other exotic luxury items.  There were also 74 attendants dressed in rich jewelry and apparel that matched that of the queen, indicating their favor with her. 

Christie made her first visit to Ur in 1930 and became friends with the Woolleys and their assistant Sir Max Mallowan.  Fate had an interesting twist for those involved in excavations of Ur during 1930.  Christie had divorced her first husband, Archibald Christie, in 1928, after years of his womanizing and freely spending his wife’s earnings.  Going to the site of an ancient city-state might not be what everyone would call romantic, but Christie and Mallowan quickly found many common interests while conducting the research.  Over the course that season’s dig, the two quickly fell in love.  They married the same year.

In 1936, Christie published Death in Mesopotamia.  She had based the characters, and setting for that matter, on the 1930 excavation team.  Christie and Mallowan continued their archeological expeditions throughout the Middle East, including sites in northern Iraq, Syria, and Egypt.  Agatha Christie was present at some of the most spectacular discoveries of the ancient world and used those very same expeditions as inspiration some of the best mystery novels of all time.