Girsu ( Sumerian ;

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

) was a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of ancient

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

, situated some northwest of

Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...

, at the site of modern Tell Telloh,

Dhi Qar Governorate Dhi Qar Governorate ( ar, ذي قار, translit=Thi Qār, ) is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in southern Iraq. The provincial capital is Nasiriyah. Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate. Thi Qar was the heartland of ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

History

Stamp seal with Master of Animals motif, Tello, ancient Girsu, End of Ubaid period, Louvre Museum AO14165

Girsu was possibly inhabited in the

Ubaid period The Ubaid period (c. 6500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall and later by Leonard Wool ...

(5300-4800 BC), but significant levels of activity began in the Early Dynastic period (2900-2335 BC). At the time of

Gudea Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC ( short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC (middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had marr ...

, during the Second Dynasty of Lagash, Girsu became the capital of the

kingdom and continued to be its religious center after political power had shifted to city of Lagash. During the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...

, Girsu was a major administrative center for the empire. After the fall of Ur, Girsu declined in importance, but remained inhabited until approximately 200 BC. A 4th century BCE bilingual Greek/Aramaic inscription was found there.

Archaeology

The site consist of two main mounds, one rising 50 feet above the plain and the other 56 feet. A number of small mounds dot the site. Telloh was the first Sumerian site to be extensively excavated, at first under the French vice-consul at Basra,

Ernest de Sarzec Ernest Choquin de Sarzec (1832–1901) was a French archaeologist, to whom is attributed the discovery of the civilization of ancient Sumer. He was in the French diplomatic service; on being transferred to Basra in 1872 as a vice-consul, he bec ...

, in eleven campaigns between 1877 and 1900, followed by his successor

Gaston Cros Colonel Marie Augstin Gaston Cros (known as Gaston Cros) (6 October 1861 – 10 May 1915) was a French army officer and archaeologist. He was born in Alsace and was displaced when that territory was incorporated into the German Empire. He ...

from 1903–1909. Excavations continued under Abbé

Henri de Genouillac Henri Pierre Louis du Verdier de Genouillac, called Abbé Henri de Genouillac, (15 March 1881, Rouen – 20 November 1940, in his clergy house in Villennes-sur-Seine) was a French Roman catholic priest, epigrapher and archaeologist specializing in ...

in 1929–1931 and under

André Parrot André Charles Ulrich Parrot (15 February 1901 – 24 August 1980) was a French archaeologist specializing in the ancient Near East. He led excavations in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and is best known for his work at Mari, Syria, where he led i ...

in 1931–1933. It was at Girsu that the fragments of the

Stele of the Vultures The Stele of the Vultures is a monument from the Early Dynastic IIIb period (2600–2350 BC) in Mesopotamia celebrating a victory of the city-state of Lagash over its neighbour Umma. It shows various battle and religious scenes and is named after ...

were found. The site has suffered from poor excavation standards and also from illegal excavations. About 50,000 cuneiform tablets have been recovered from the site. Excavations at Telloh resumed in 2017 as part of a training program for Iraqi archaeologists organized by the British Museum. A foundation tablet and a number of inscribed building cones have been found. In March 2020, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 5,000-year-old cultic area filled with more than 300 broken ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars, animal sacrifices, and ritual processions dedicated to

Ningirsu , image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...

. One of the remains was a duck-shaped bronze figurine with eyes made from bark which is thought to be dedicated to

Nanshe Nanshe ( sux, ) was a Mesopotamian goddess in various contexts associated with the sea, marshlands, the animals inhabiting these biomes, namely bird and fish, as well as divination, dream interpretation, justice, social welfare, and certain admin ...

. An

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

weight was also found.

Gallery

Ubaid IV artifacts (4700–4200 BC) in Girsu

File:Ubaid IV pottery gobelet 4700-4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu. Louvre Museum.jpg, Ubaid IV pottery gobelet, 4700–4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu. Louvre Museum. File:Ubaid IV pottery jars 4700-4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu, Louvre Museum.jpg, Ubaid IV pottery jars 4700–4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu, Louvre Museum. File:Ubaid IV pottery 4700-4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu, Louvre Museum.jpg, Ubaid IV pottery 4700–4200 BC Tello, ancient Girsu, Louvre Museum AO 15338. File:Female figurines Ubaid IV Tello ancient Girsu 4700-4200 BC Louvre Museum.jpg, Female figurines Ubaid IV, Tello, ancient Girsu, 4700–4200 BC. Louvre Museum AO15327.

Uruk Period artifacts (4000–3100)

File:Vase Telloh Louvre AO14313.jpg, Uruk period vase. Terracotta, ca. 3500–2900 BC. From Telloh, ancient city of Girsu.

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. File:Vase Telloh Louvre AO14302.jpg, Vase. Terracotta with red slip, ca. 3500–2900 BC. From Telloh, ancient city of Girsu.

. File:Vase Telloh Louvre AO14342.jpg, Vase. Terracotta, ca. 3500–2900 BC. From Telloh, ancient city of Girsu. File:Indus seal found in Telloh.jpg, Indus seal impression discovered in Telloh, a result of Indus-Mesopotamia relations.

Early dynastic artifacts in Girsu (3rd millennium BC)

File:Ring of Gold, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Tello, ancient Girsu, mid-3rd millenium BC.jpg, Ring of Gold, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Tello, ancient Girsu, mid-3rd millennium BC. Louvre Museum. File:Issue of barley rations.JPG, An account of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

rations issued monthly to adults and children written in

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

on clay tablet, written in year 4 of King

Urukagina Uru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina ( sux, ; 24th century BC, middle chronology) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to ...

(circa 2350 BC). From Girsu, Iraq.

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, London. File:Telloh doorway erected by Gudea.jpg, Telloh doorway erected by

(c. 2100 BC)

Notes

External links

Divine Cults in the Sacred Precinct of Girsu - Sébastien Rey - Near Eastern Archaeology Volume 84, Number 2- June 20215,000-year-old artifacts unearthed in Sumerian city of Girsu in Iraq - Daily Sabah - Nov 17, 2021Fragment of a stone plaque depicting Enannatum
found in Tello (Girsu), from the collection of the British Museum, on the site of Google Cultural Institute
Images of Girsu
- Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
Stele of the Vultures at the LouvreThe world's oldest bridge is being preserved in IraqThe Iraq Emergency Heritage Management Training Scheme: an updateExcavations at Girsu Video - British Museum
{{Authority control Populated places established in the 3rd millennium BC Populated places disestablished in the 2nd century BC Sumerian cities Archaeological sites in Iraq Dhi Qar Governorate Former populated places in Iraq Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) fr:Lagash#Girsu/Tello