Girsu

Tello

Iraq · Dhi Qar

Ancient cityIntermittent excavation
Approximate period4,900 BCE — 200 BCEUbaid, Uruk, Early Dynastic and later Mesopotamian periods See on the map ↓

In brief

Girsu was one of the important religious centres of the state of Lagash. Excavations here have yielded buildings, written records and crafted objects documenting Sumerian architecture, administration and art.

What was found?

  • 1Ningirsu's Eninnu Temple

    The plan of the temple dedicated to the god Ningirsu was uncovered. The structure, commissioned by Gudea around 2125 BCE, is a fundamental discovery for understanding the sacred center of Girsu.

  • 2Mudbrick walls of the royal palace

    Mudbrick walls belonging to the palace were identified at Tablet Hill. This discovery showed that architectural remains also survive in areas heavily disturbed by earlier excavations.

  • 3Administrative cuneiform tablets

    More than 200 administrative tablets were recovered from the spoil heaps of earlier excavations. These documents, which preserve written records of the city's administration, were taken to the Iraq Museum.

  • 4Enmetena's silver vase

    The silver vase found at Girsu bears decorations depicting animals and lion-headed eagles. Its Sumerian inscription states that the vessel belonged to Ningirsu's tableware; the object documents both metalworking and temple worship.

What does it point to?

The temple, palace and administrative documents show that religious institutions and urban administration can be studied together at Girsu. The inscribed silver vase also reveals that valuable materials and skilled craftsmanship were used for objects dedicated to the gods.

What did it teach us?

  1. Gave tangible form to the architecture of the sacred precinct by revealing the plan of Ningirsu's Temple.
  2. Showed that important written documents can survive even in the spoil heaps of earlier excavations.
  3. Documented how the functions of temple objects can be understood through their dedicatory inscriptions.

Images

Votive mace head dedicated by Ur-Ningirsu II to god Ningirsu, from Tell Telloh, Iraq, 2125
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

In 2023, the remains of a royal palace approximately 4,500 years old, identified during work in 2022, and more than 200 cuneiform tablets recovered from old excavation spoil were announced.

Record

Culture
Sumerian
First modern dig
1877
Team / historical
Sébastien Rey; British Museum, Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, and Getty
Coordinates
31.5620°, 46.1776°

Sources

  1. britishmuseum.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org
  3. British Museum araştırma arşivi — The Temple of Ningirsu
  4. Louvre Müzesi — Enmetena Vazosu koleksiyon kaydı

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