Sumerian palace and temple dating back to 4500 B.C. discovered in Iraq

DHI QAR, Iraq — A team of scientists have discovered the remains of a lost royal palace and a Sumerian temple dating back to 4500 B.C. in Dhi Qar Governorate, southern Iraq.

They were discovered by the Girsu Project, a joint initiative and new holistic approach to saving endangered heritage sites between the British Museum, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) of Iraq, and the J. Paul Getty Trust and Museum.

Tello is the modern Arabic name of the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu, one of the earliest known cities in the world. Sumer is one of the first civilizations of the ancient world, and the site is one of the greatest treasures of Iraq.

Between 3500 and 2000 B.C., the Sumerians invented writing, built the first cities, and created the first codes of law.

Girsu’s discovery 140 years ago revealed to the world the existence of the Sumerian civilization and brought to light some of the most important monuments of Mesopotamian art and architecture.

Last year, preliminary remote sensing work at Girsu using cutting-edge technology and drone photos located important subsurface remains of a vast complex, previously unknown, at the site of Tablet Hill.

In the autumn of 2022, the first mudbrick walls of the palace were identified and more than 200 cuneiform tablets, administrative records of the great city, discarded in 19th-century spoil heaps were rescued and taken to the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

Another exciting discovery is the main sanctuary of the great Sumerian god, Ningirsu, from whom the city takes its name.

The temple has been identified in the sacred precinct, called the Urukug. The temple is named Eninnu, the White Thunderbird, and was revered as one of the most important temples of Mesopotamia. Until the renewed fieldwork of the Girsu project, the Eninnu temple was only known by ancient inscriptions unearthed at the site 140 years ago.

Archaeologists consider the temple of Eninnu one of the most important historical religious temples in Mesopotamia, which was visited by many people at that time.

Archaeologists stated that Girsu was discovered at the end of the 19th century by French scientists, and it has great importance in launching the study of the Sumerian civilization, language, cuneiform writings, and history.

The Sumerian civilization originated in central and southern Iraq about 6,000 years ago. They were skilled farmers and builders of the earliest known cities.