Eridu

Archaeological site in Iraq

For the unincorporated community in Taylor County, Florida, see Eridu, Florida.

Not to be confused with Irridu.

Eridu

Sumerian: 𒉣𒆠
Arabic: تل أبو شهرين

The ruins of Eridu.

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Eridu (Iraq)

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Alternative name| Tell Abu Shahrain
Location| Al-Batha Subdistrict, Nasiriyah District, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
Region| Lower Mesopotamia, Mesopotamia, West Asia
Coordinates| 30°48′57″N 45°59′46″E﻿ / ﻿30.81583°N 45.99611°E﻿ / 30.81583; 45.99611
Type| Ancient city
Area| At most 10 ha (25 acres)
History
Founded| c. 5500 – c. 5300 BC
Abandoned| c. 600 BC
Periods|

List

* Ubaid period
* Uruk period
* Early Dynastic period
* Akkadian period
* Gutian period
* Ur III period
* Isin-Larsa period
* Old Babylonian period
* Middle Babylonian period
* Neo-Babylonian period

Site notes
Excavation dates| 1855, 1918-1919, 1946-1949, 2018
Archaeologists| John George Taylor, R. Campbell Thompson, H. R. Hall, Fuad Safar, Seton Lloyd, Franco D’Agostino

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Official name| Tell Eridu Archaeological Site
Part of| Ahwar of Southern Iraq
Criteria| Mixed: (iii)(v)(ix)(x)
Reference| 1481-007
Inscription| 2016 (40th Session)
Area| 33 ha (0.13 sq mi)
Buffer zone| 1,069 ha (4.13 sq mi)
Coordinates| 30°49′1″N 45°59′45″E﻿ / ﻿30.81694°N 45.99583°E﻿ / 30.81694; 45.99583

Eridu (Sumerian: 𒉣𒆠, romanized: NUN.KI; Sumerian: eridugki; Akkadian: irîtu) was a Sumerian city located at Tell Abu Shahrain (Arabic: تل أبو شهرين), also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, an archaeological site in Lower Mesopotamia. It is located in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, near the modern city of Basra. Eridu is traditionally considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia based on the Sumerian King List. Located 24 kilometers south-southwest of the ancient site of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. The city gods of Eridu were Enki and his consort Damkina. Enki, later known as Ea, was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was thought to stem. According to Sumerian temple hymns, another name for the temple of Ea/Enki was called Esira (Esirra).

> "... The temple is constructed with gold and lapis lazuli, Its foundation on the nether-sea (apsu) is filled in. By the river of Sippar (Euphrates) it stands. O Apsu pure place of propriety, Esira, may thy king stand within thee. ..."[1][2]

At nearby Ur there was a temple of Ishtar of Eridu (built by Lagash's ruler Ur-Baba) and a sanctuary of Inanna of Eridu (built by Ur III ruler Ur-Nammu). Ur-Nammu also recorded building a temple of Ishtar of Eridu at Ur which is assumed to have been a rebuild.[3][4]

One of the religious quarters of Babylon, containing the temple called the Esagila as well as the temple of Annunitum, among others, was also named Eridu.[5]

## Archaeology

[edit]

Eridu context c. 5000 BC

Eridu is located on a natural hill in a basin approximately 15 miles long and 20 feet deep, which is separated from the Euphrates by a sandstone ridge called the Hazem.[6] This basin, the As Sulaybiyat Depression (formerly: Khor en-Nejeif), becomes a seasonal lake (Arabic: Sebkha) during the rainy season from November to April.[7] During this period, it is filled by the discharge of the Wadi Khanega. Adjacent to eastern edge of the seasonal lake are the Hammar Marshes.

In the 3rd Millennium BC a canal, Id-edin-Eriduga (NUN)ki "the canal of the Eridug plain", connected Eridu to the Euphrates river, which later shifted its course. The path of the canal is marked by several low tells with 2nd Millennium BC surface pottery and later burials.[8] The site contains 8 mounds:[9]

* Mound 1 - Abū Šahrain, 580 meters x 540 meters in area NW to WE, 25 meters in height, Enki Temple, Ur III Ziggurat (É-u₆-nir) Sacred Area, Early Dynastic plano-convex bricks found, Ubaid Period cemetery
* Mound 2 - 350 meters x 350 meters in area, 4.3 meters in height, 1 kilometer N of Abū Šahrain, Early Dynastic Palace, remnants of city wall built with plano-convex bricks
* Mound 3 - 300 × 150 meters in area, 2.5 meters high, 2.2 kilometers SSW of Abū Šahrain, Isin-Larsa pottery found
* Mound 4 - 600 × 300 meters in area, 2.5 kilometers SW of Abū Šahrain, Kassite pottery found
* Mound 5 - 500 × 300 meters in area, 3 meters high, 1.5 kilometers SE of Abū Šahrain, Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid periods
* Mound 6 - 300 × 200 meters in area, 2 meters high, 2.5 kilometers SW of Abū Šahrain
* Mound 7 - 400 × 200 meters in area, 1.5 meters high, 3 kilometers E of Abū Šahrai
* Mound 8 - Usalla, flat area, 8 kilometers NW of Abū Šahrain, Hajj Mohammed and later Ubaid

Ziggurat at Eridu

The site was initially excavated by John George Taylor, the British Vice-counsel at Basra, in 1855.[6] Among the finds were inscribed bricks enabling the identification of the site as Eridu.[10] Excavation on the main tell next occurred by R. Campbell Thompson from April 10 untill May 8 in 1918, and H. R. Hall from April 21 until May 8 in 1919, who also conducted a survey in the area around the tell.[11][12][13][14][15][16] An interesting find by Hall was a piece of manufactured blue glass which he dated to c. 2000 BC. The blue color was achieved with cobalt, long before this technique emerged in Egypt.[17]

E-abzu temple of Eridu

Excavation there resumed from 1946 to 1949 under Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage. Among the finds were a Ubaid period terracotta boat model, complete with a socket amidship for a mast and hole for stays and rudder, bevel-rimmed bowls, and a "lizard type" figurine like those found in a sounding under the Royal Cemetery of Ur. Soundings in the cemetery showed it to have about 1000 graves, all from the end of the Ubaid period (Temple levels VI and VII).[18][19][20][21][22] They found a sequence of 17 Ubaid Period superseding temples and an Ubaid Period graveyard with 1000 graves of mud-brick boxes oriented to the southeast. The temple began as a 2 meter by 3 meter mud brick square with a niche. At Level XI it was rebuilt and eventually reached its final tripartite form in Level VI. In Ur III times a 300 square meter platform was constructed as a base for a ziggurat.[23] These archaeological investigations showed that, according to A. Leo Oppenheim, "eventually the entire south lapsed into stagnation, abandoning the political initiative to the rulers of the northern cities", probably as a result of increasing salinity produced by continuous irrigation, and the city was abandoned in 600 BC.[24] In 1990 the site was visited by A. M. T. Moore who found two areas of surface pottery kilns not noted by the earlier excavators.[25]

In October 2014 Franco D’Agostino visited the site in preparation for the coming resumption of excavation, noting a number of inscribed Amar-Sin brick fragments on the surface.[26] In 2019, excavations at Eridu were resumed by a joint Italian, French, and Iraqi effort which included the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of Strasbourg.[27][28][29] Work has included producing new detail topographic and photogrammetric maps and is mainly focused on the Ubaid period cemetery and its associated Ubaid residential area.[30]

### Artifacts

[edit]

Large buildings, implying centralized government, started to be made. Eridu Temple, final Ubaid period

In March 2006, Giovanni Pettinato and S. Chiod from Rome's La Sapienza University claimed to have discovered 500 Early Dynastic historical and literary cuneiform tablets on the surface at Eridu "disturbed by an explosion". The tablets were said to be from 2600 to 2100 BC (rulers Eannatum to Amar-Sin) and be part of a library. A team was sent to the site by Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage which found no tablets, only stamped bricks from Eridu and surrounding sites such as Ur. Nor was there a permit to excavate at the site issued to anyone.[31][32] At this point Pettinato stated that they had actually found 70 inscribed bricks. This turned out to be stamped bricks used to build the modern Eridu dig-house. The dig-house had been built using bricks from the demolished Leonard Woolley’s expedition house at Ur (clearly spelled out in the 1981 Iraqi excavation report to avoid confusion to future archaeologists.[33] Most of the bricks in question were returned to Ur in 1962 fur use in restoration efforts.[9]

### Architecture

[edit]

#### Temple and ziggurat

[edit]

The urban nucleus of Eridu was Enki's temple, called House of the Aquifer (Cuneiform: 𒂍𒍪𒀊, E₂.ZU.AB; Sumerian: e₂-abzu; Akkadian: bītu apsû), which in later history was called House of the Waters (Cuneiform: 𒂍𒇉, E₂.LAGAB×HAL; Sumerian: e₂-engur; Akkadian: bītu engurru). The name refers to Enki's realm.[34] His consort Ninhursag had a nearby temple at Ubaid.[35]

During the Ur III period Ur-Nammu had a ziggurat built over the remains of previous temples.

Aside from Enmerkar of Uruk (as mentioned in the Aratta epics), several later historical Sumerian kings are said in inscriptions found here to have worked on or renewed the e-abzu temple, including Elili of Ur; Ur-Nammu, Shulgi and Amar-Sin of Ur-III, and Nur-Adad of Larsa.[36][37]

Level | Date (BC) | Period | Size (m) | Note

|
|
|
|

XVIII | 5300 | - | 3×0.3 | Sleeper walls
XVII | 5300–5000 | - | 2.8×2.8 | First cella
XVI | 5300–4500 | Early Ubaid | 3.5×3.5 |
XV | 5000–4500 | Early Ubaid | 7.3×8.4 |
XIV | 5000–4500 | Early Ubaid | - | No structure found
XIII | 5000–4500 | Early Ubaid | - | No structure found
XII | 5000–4500 | Early Ubaid | - | No structure found
XI | 4500–4000 | Ubaid | 4.5×12.6 | First platform
X | 4500–4000 | Ubaid | 5×13 |
IX | 4500–4000 | Ubaid | 4×10 |
VIII | 4500–4000 | Ubaid | 18×11 |
VII | 4000–3800 | Ubaid | 17×12 |
VI | 4000–3800 | Ubaid | 22×9 |
V | 3800–3500 | Early Uruk | - | Only platform remains
IV | 3800–3500 | Early Uruk | - | Only platform remains
III | 3800–3500 | Early Uruk | - | Only platform remains
II | 3500–3200 | Early Uruk | - | Only platform remains
I | 3200 | Early Uruk | - | Only platform remains

## History

[edit]

Painted pottery vessel from Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain), Iraq. 3500-2800 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad

Eridu is one of the earliest settlements in the region, founded c. 5400 BC during the early Ubaid period, at that time close to the Persian Gulf near the mouth of the Euphrates, although in modern times it is about 90 miles inland. Excavation has shown that the city was founded on a virgin sand dune site with no previous habitation. According to the excavators, construction of the Ur III ziggurat and associated buildings was preceded by the destruction of preceding construction and its use as leveling fill so no remains from that time were found. At a small mound 1 kilometer north of Eridu two Early Dynastic III palaces were found, with an enclosure wall. The palaces measured 45 meters by 65 meters with 2.6 meter wide walls and were constructed in the standard Early Dynastic period method of plano-convex bricks laid in a herringbone fashion.[18]

Bowl excavated in the Ubaid Cemetery at Eridu (Grave 134)

With possible breaks in occupation in the Early Dynastic III and Akkadian Empire periods, the city was inhabited until the Neo-Babylonian Empire, though in later times it was primarily a cultic site.

Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 6.99 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the Ubaid period the site extended out to an area of about 12 hectares (about 30 acres). Twelve neolithic clay tokens, the precursor to Proto-cuneiform, were found in the Ubaid levels of the site.[38][39] Eighteen superimposed mudbrick temples at the site underlie the unfinished ziggurat of Amar-Sin (c. 2047–2039 BC). Levels XIX to VI were from the Ubaid period and Levels V to I were dated to the Uruk period.[40] Significant habitation was found from the Uruk period with "non-secular" buildings being found in soundings. Uruk finds included decorative terracotta cones topped with copper, copper nails topped with gold, a pair of basalt stone lion statues, columns several meters in diameter coated with cones and gypsum, and extensive Uruk period pottery.[41][42][43][44] Occupation increased in the Early Dynastic period with a monumental 100 meter by 100 meter palace being constructed.[45] An inscription of Elulu, a ruler of the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 2600 BC), was found at Eridu.[46] On a statue of the Early Dynastic ruler of Lagash named Entemena (c. 2400 BC), it reads, "he built Ab-zupasira for Enki, king of Eridu ...",[47]

Fired clay brick stamped with the name of Amar-Sin, Ur III, from Eridu, currently housed in the British Museum

Eridu was active during the Third Dynasty of Ur (22nd to 21st century BC) and royal building activity is known from inscribed bricks notably those of Ur-Nammu from his ziggurat marked "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, the one who built the temple of the god Enki in Eridu."[48] Three Third Dynasty rulers designated Year Names based on the appointment of an en(tu)-priestess (high priestess) of the temple of Enki in Eridu, the highest religious office in the land at that time. In each the first two cases it was also used as the succeeding Year Name.

* Sulgi Year 28 - "Year the szita-priest-who-intercedes-for-Szulgi, the son of Szulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four corners of the universe, was installed as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"
* Amar-Sin Year 8 - "Year (Ennune-kiag-Amar-Sin) Ennune-the beloved (of Amar-Sin, was installed as en-priestess of Enki in Eridu)"
* Ibbi-Sin Year 11 - "Year the szita-priest who prays piously for Ibbi-Sin was chosen by means of the omens as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"

Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

After the fall of Ur III the site was occupied and active during the Isin-Larsa period (early 2nd Millennium BC) as evidenced by a Year Name of Nur-Adad, ruler of Larsa "Year the temple of Enki in Eridu was built" and texts of Larsa rulers Ishbi-Erra and Ishme-Dagan showing control over Eridu.[49] Inscribed construction bricks of Nur-Adad have also been found at Eridu.[50] This continued in the Old Babylonian period with Hammurabi stating in his 33rd Year Name "Year Hammu-rabi the king dug the canal (called) 'Hammu-rabi is abundance to the people', the beloved of An and Enlil, established the everlasting waters of plentifulness for Nippur, Eridu, Ur, Larsa, Uruk and Isin, restored Sumer and Akkad which had been scattered, overthrew in battle the army of Mari and Malgium and caused Mari and its territory and the various cities of Subartu to dwell under his authority in friendship"

Cup; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 8.56 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

In an inscription of Kurigalzu I (c. 1375 BC), a ruler of the Kassite dynasty one of his epitaphs is "[he one who ke]eps the sanctuary in Eridu in order".[51]

An inscription of the Second Sealand Dynastic ruler Simbar-shipak (c. 1021–1004 BCE) mentions a priest of Eridu.[52]

The Neo-Assyrian emperor Sargon II (722–705 BCE) awarded andurāru-status (described as "a periodic reinstatement of goods and persons, alienated because of want, to their original status") to Eridu.[53]

The Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) built at Eridu as evidenced by inscribed bricks found there.[54]

### Mythology

[edit]

In some, but not all, versions of the Sumerian King List, Eridu is the first of five cities where kingship was received before a flood came over the land. The list mentions two rulers of Eridu from the Early Dynastic period, Alulim and Alalngar.[55][56]

[nam]-lugal an-ta èd-dè-a-ba
[eri]duki nam-lugal-la
eridugki a₂-lu-lim lugal
mu 28800 i₃-ak
a₂-lal₃-ĝar mu 36000 i₃-ak

When kingship from heaven was lowered,
the kingship was in Eridu
In Eridug, Alulim became king;
he ruled
for 28800 years.
Alaljar ruled for 36000 years[57]

|

The bright star Canopus was known to the ancient Mesopotamians and represented the city of Eridu in the Three Stars Each Babylonian star catalogues and later around 1100 BC on the MUL.APIN tablets.[58] Canopus was called MUL.NUNKI by the Babylonians, which translates as "star of the city of Eridu". From most southern city of Mesopotamia, Eridu, there is a good view to the south, so that about 6000 years ago due to the precession of the Earth's axis the first rising of the star Canopus in Mesopotamia could be observed only from there at the southern meridian at midnight. In the city of Ur this was the case only 60 years later.[59]

In the flood myth tablet[60] found in Ur, how Eridu and Alulim were chosen by gods as first city and first priest-king is described in more detail.[61] The following is the English translation of the tablet:[62]

(Obverse)
1 They (the chief deities) created humanity
2 After the [animals/vermin?] were proliferating below/from the earth in unison
3 They made livestock and quadrupeds as fitting things in the steppe(eden-na)
4 In the high steppe ... joyous plants broadly
5 At that time, the canal was not dug ...
6 The dike and ditch [were not dredged(?) ...]
7 The ox ... the plow/farmer/furrow(?) ...
8 The lands ... a single track ...
9 Humanity ... their eyes/faces ... [rain?]
10 Šakkan/Šumugan [did not go out(?)] in the desert ...
11 Weaving the cap/headcloth(?) ...
12 Humanity ...
13 At that time, the snake was not present, [the scorpion was not present ...]
14 The lion was not present, [the hyena was not present ...]
15 The dog and wolf were not present ...
16 Humanity [had no opponent ...]
17 Fear and [gooseflesh(?) were not present ...]
18 ...
19 The king ...
20 ...

(Reverse)
1 First ... were giving [Eridu or Ku’ara?] to Asalluhi,
2 Second ... were giving [Bad-tibira to the nugig midwife?],
3 Third ... were giving [Larak[ to Pabilsaĝ,
4 Fourth ... were giving [Sippar to Utu?]
5 Fifth ... were giving Š[uruppak?] to [Sud?].
6 Those cities .. their settlements ...
7 An, Enlil, [Enki?] and Ninhursaĝ
8 Among(?) those cities, Eridu .. they established at the front/as the leader(?)
9 They led(?) a man who was lying(?) among its vast and many people ...
10 An, Enlil, and Enki, the father(s) of the gods(?)
11 They chose Alulim/the "seed of the red deer" for the shepherdship of the entirety of the many people
12 They named him(!) Alulim/named the "seed of the red deer" ...
13 After they served according to the command to check thusly/forever after(?)
14 [So that?] humanity, whoever possessed a name, were grasping his feet (in submission)/following his path(?)
15 They put both (capital) offense and sin(?) in his hand
16 was giving ... to him
17 ...
18 ...

|

Cup; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 9.53 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Adapa, a man of Eridu, is depicted as an early culture hero. Although earlier tradition, Me-Turan/Tell-Haddad tablet, describes Adapa as postdiluvian ruler of Eridu,[63] in late tradition, Adapa came to be viewed as Alulim’s vizier,[64] and he was considered to have brought civilization to the city as the sage of King Alulim.[65][66]

Jar; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 15.24 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was the home of the Abzu temple of the god Enki, the Sumerian counterpart of the Akkadian god Ea, god of deep waters, wisdom and magic. Like all the Sumerian and Babylonian gods, Enki/Ea began as a local god who, according to the later cosmology, came to share the rule of the cosmos with Anu and Enlil. His kingdom was the sweet waters that lay below earth (Sumerian ab=water; zu=far).[67]

Statue of a standing lion from Eridu, Iraq, c. mid-3rd millennium BC

The stories of Inanna, goddess of Uruk, describe how she had to go to Eridu in order to receive the gifts of civilization. At first Enki, the god of Eridu, attempted to retrieve these sources of his power but later willingly accepted that Uruk now was the centre of the land.[68][69]

The fall of early Mesopotamia cities and empires was typically believed to be the result of falling out of favor with the gods. A genre called City Laments developed during the Isin-Larsa period, of which the Lament for Ur is the most famous. These laments had a number of sections (kirugu) of which only fragments have been recovered. The Lament for Eridu describes the fall of that city.[70][71]

> "Its king stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. Father Enki stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. For the sake of his harmed city, he wept bitter tears. Its lady, like a flying bird, left her city. The mother of E-maḫ, holy Damgalnuna, left her city. The divine powers of the city of holiest divine powers were overturned. The divine powers of the rites of the greatest divine powers were altered. In Eridug everything was reduced to ruin, was wrought with confusion."[72]

#### List of rulers

[edit]

The following list should not be considered complete:

#  | Depiction  | Ruler  | Succession  | Title | Approx. dates  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Early Dynastic I period (c. 2900 – c. 2700 BC)
Predynastic Sumer (c. 2900 – c. 2700 BC)

> "After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu."

> — Sumerian King List (SKL)

1  |  | Alulim
𒀉𒇻𒅆  |  | King of Sumer

* * *

King of Eridu  | fl. c. 2874 BC
(28800—67200 years) |

* Is mentioned in the Weld-Blundell Prism (W-B 44) version of the SKL (this version of the SKL was most likely written temp. of Suen-magir c. 1800 BC)
* Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Eridu; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer
* The Uruk List of Kings and Sages (ULKS) version of the SKL pairs him up with an apkallu (an apkallu was a sage in Sumerian literature and religion—the first apkallu was named Adapa and he was paired up with Alulim; additionally, Adapa has been compared with the Biblical figure Adam)

2  |  | Alalngar
𒀉𒋭𒃻  | Brother of Alulim (?)  | King of Sumer

* * *

King of Eridu  | reigned c. 2866 BC
(36000 years) |

* Historicity uncertain
* Is mentioned in the Dynastic Chronicle version of the SKL (this version of the SKL was most likely written temp. of Nabonassar c. 740 BC)
* The ULKS (written c. 165 BC) pairs him up with an apkallu (Uanduga)

> "2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridu fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira."

> — SKL

3  |  | Amelon
𒁹𒄠𒈨𒇻𒀭𒈾  |  | King of Sumer

* * *

King of Eridu  | r. c. 2900 BC
(46800 years) |

* Historicity uncertain
* Is mentioned in Berossus’ version of the SKL (the Babyloniaca was written c. 290 BC)
* The ULKS pairs him up with an apkallu (Enmeduga)

## See also

[edit]

* Abzu
* Cities of the Ancient Near East
* Eridu Genesis
* Lake Hammar
* Tepe Gawra

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Langdon, Review of "Campbell Thompson, R 'The British Museum excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918', 1920", S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 4, pp. 621–25, 1922
2. ^ Langdon, S., "Two Sumerian Hymns from Eridu and Nippur", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 161–86, 1923
3. ^ Clayden, Tim, "Kassite housing at Ur: the dates of the EM, YC, XNCF, AH and KPS houses", Iraq, vol. 76, pp. 19–64, 2014
4. ^ Radau, Hugo, "Letters to Cassite Kings from the Temple Archives of Nippur", Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1908
5. ^ Gurney, O. R., "The Fifth Tablet of ‘The Topography of Babylon’", Iraq, vol. 36, no. 1/2, pp. 39–52, 1974
6. ^ a b [1]J. E. Taylor, "Notes on Abu Shahrein and Tell el Lahm", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 15, pp. 404–415, 1855
7. ^ Edwards, I. E.S. (ed.). The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. I, Part 1: Prolegomena and Prehistory (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 331-332. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
8. ^ Thorkild Jacobsen, "The Waters of Ur", Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture, Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press, pp. 231-244, 1970
9. ^ a b [2]Safar, Fuad et al., "Eridu", Baghdad: Ministry of Culture and Information, 1981
10. ^ Hilprecht, H. V., "First Successful Attempts In Babylonia", Explorations in Bible Lands During the 19th Century, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 138-186, 2004
11. ^ Hall, H. R., "Recent Excavations of the British Museum at Tell el-Mukayyar (Ur ‘of the Chaldees’), Tell Abu Shahrein (Eridu), and Tell el-Ma‘abed or Tell el-‘Obeid, near Ur", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries 32, pp. 22–44, 1920
12. ^ Campbell Thompson, "The British Museum Excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918", Archaeologia 70, pp. 101-44, 1920
13. ^ H. R. Hall, "Notes on the Excavations of 1919 at Muqayyar, el-‘Obeid, and Abu Shahrein", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 56, Centenary Supplement, pp. 103–115, 1924
14. ^ Hall, H. R., "The Excavations of 1919 at Ur, el-’Obeid, and Eridu, and the History of Early Babylonia", Man 25, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, pp. 1–7, 1925
15. ^ Hall, H. R., "Ur and Eridu: The British Museum Excavations of 1919", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 9, pp. 177–95, 1923
16. ^ Hall, H.R., "A Season's Work at Ur,Al-ʻUbaid, Abu Shahrain (Eridu) and Elsewhere. Being an Unofficial Account of the British Museum Archaeological Mission to Babylonia, 1919", London, 1930
17. ^ Garner, Harry, "An Early Piece of Glass from Eridu", Iraq, vol. 18, no. 2, 1956, pp. 147–49, 1956 doi:10.2307/4199608
18. ^ a b [3]al Asil, Naji and Lloyd, Seton and Safar, Fuad, "Eridu", Sumer, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 84–111, July 1947
19. ^ [4]Lloyd, Seton and Safar, Fuad, "Eridu. A Preliminary Communication on the Second Season’s Excavations. 1947-1948.", Sumer, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 115–127, September 1948
20. ^ Fuad Safar, "The Third Season's Excavation at Eridu", Sumer, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 159–174, 1949 (In Arabic.)
21. ^ [5]Fuad Safar, "ERIDU A Preliminary Report on the Third Season's Excavation at Eridu, 1948-1949", Sumer, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 27–38, 1950
22. ^ Lloyd, Seton, "Abu Shahrein: A Memorandum", Iraq 36, pp. 129–38, 1974
23. ^ Laneri, Nicola, "From High to Low: Reflections about the Emplacement of Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia", Naming and Mapping the Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean: Spaces, Mobilities, Imaginaries, edited by Corinne Bonnet, Thomas Galoppin, Elodie Guillon, Max Luaces, Asuman Lätzer-Lasar, Sylvain Lebreton, Fabio Porzia, Jörg Rüpke and Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 371-386, 2022
24. ^ [6] A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964, revised in 1977
25. ^ Moore, A. M. T., "Pottery Kiln Sites at al ’Ubaid and Eridu", Iraq, vol. 64, pp. 69–77, 2002, doi:10.2307/4200519
26. ^ D’Agostino, Franco, "The Eridu Project (AMEr) and a Singular Brick-Inscription of Amar- Suena from Abū Šahrain", The First Ninety Years: A Sumerian Celebration in Honor of Miguel Civil, edited by Lluís Feliu, Fumi Karahashi and Gonzalo Rubio, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 70–79, 2017
27. ^ Franco D'Agostino, Anne-Caroline Rendu Loisel, and Philippe Quénet, The first campaign at Eridu, April 2019 (Project AMEr), pp. 65–90, Rivista degli studi orientali : XCIII, 1/2, 2020
28. ^ [7]Ramazzotti, Marco, "The Iraqi-Italian Archaeological Mission at The Seven Mounds of Eridu (AMEr)", The Iraqi-Italian Archaeological Mission at The Seven Mounds of Eridu (AMEr), pp. 3-29, 2015
29. ^ Rendu Loisel, Anne-Caroline. "Another brick (-stamp) in the wall: few remarks on Amar-Suena's bricks in Eridu", Oriens antiquus : rivista di studi sul Vicino Oriente Antico e il Mediterraneo orientale : II, pp. 81-98, 2020
30. ^ [8]Brienza, Emanuele, "Smart tools for archaeological survey in different frameworks and contexts: approaches, analysis, results", Acta IMEKO 13.3, pp. 1-11, 2024
31. ^ Biggin, S.; Lawler, A. (10 April 2006). "Iraq Antiquities Find Sparks Controversy". Science. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
32. ^ Curtis, John et al., "An Assessment of Archaeological Sites in June 2008: An Iraqi-British Project", Iraq, vol. 70, pp. 215–237, 2008
33. ^ Pettinato, Giovanni, "Eridu Texts", Time and History in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Barcelona, July 26th-30th, 2010, edited by Lluis Feliu, J. Llop, A. Millet Albà and Joaquin Sanmartín, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 799-802, 2013
34. ^ Green, Margaret Whitney, "Eridu in Sumerian Literature", Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1975
35. ^ P. Delougaz, A Short Investigation of the Temple at Al-'Ubaid, Iraq, vol. 5, pp. 1-11, 1938
36. ^ AR George, "House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia", Eisenbrauns, 2003 ISBN 0-931464-80-3
37. ^ Fabrizio Serra ed., "A new foundation clay-nail of Nūr-Adad from Eridu", Oriens antiquus : rivista di studi sul Vicino Oriente Antico e il Mediterraneo orientale : I, pp. 191-196, 2019
38. ^ Overmann, Karenleigh A., "The Neolithic Clay Tokens", The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 157-178, 2019
39. ^ [9]Wright, H. T., "Appendix: The Southern Margins of Sumer. Archaeological Survey of the Area of Eridu and Ur", In: R. M. Adams (ed.), The Heartland of Cities: Survey of Ancient Settlement and Land Use on the Central Flood Plain of the Euphrates (Chicago-London), pp. 295–345, 1981
40. ^ Quenet, Philippe, "Eridu: Note on the Decoration of the Uruk ‘Temples.’", Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Vol. 2: Field Reports. Islamic Archaeology, edited by Adelheid Otto et al., 1st ed., Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 341–48, 2020
41. ^ [10]Lloyd, S., "Uruk Pottery: A Comparative Study in relation to recent Finds at Eridu", Sumer, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 39–51, 1948
42. ^ Van Buren, E. Douglas, "Excavations at Eridu", Orientalia, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 115–19, 1948
43. ^ Becker, A., "Uruk Kleinfunde I", Stein. Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka Endberichte 6, Mainz, 1993
44. ^ [11] al-Soof A.B., "Uruk Pottery from Eridu, Ur, and al-Ubaid", Sumer, vol. 20, no. 1-2, pp. 17–22, 1973
45. ^ Adams, Robert McCormick, "The Evolution of Urban Society: Early Mesopotamia and Prehistoric Mexico", Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966
46. ^ Sollberger, Edmond, and Jean-Robert Kupper, "Inscriptions royales sumeriennese akkadiennes", Littératures Anciennes du Proche-Orient 3, Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1971
47. ^ Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "Six Votive and Dedicatory Inscriptions", When Writing Met Art: From Symbol to Story, New York, USA: University of Texas Press, pp. 71-86, 2007
48. ^ Frayne, Douglas, "Ur-Nammu E3/2.1.1", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-90, 1997
49. ^ De Graef, Katrien. "Bad Moon Rising: The Changing Fortunes of Early Second-Millennium BCE Ur", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelåpåphia, July 11–15, 2016, edited by Grant Frame, Joshua Jeffers and Holly Pittman, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 49-88, 2021
50. ^ “RIME 4.02.08.05, Ex. 01 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P345487.
51. ^ Oshima, Takayoshi, "Another Attempt at Two Kassite Royal Inscriptions: The Agum-Kakrime Inscription and the Inscription of Kurigalzu the Son of Kadashmanharbe", Babel und Bibel 6, edited by Leonid E. Kogan, N. Koslova, S. Loesov and S. Tishchenko, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 225-268, 2012
52. ^ [12] L.W. King, "Babylonian Boundary Stones and Memorial Tablets in the British Museum (BBSt)", London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1912
53. ^ Frazer, Mary and Adalı, Selim Ferruh, "“The just judgements that Ḫammu-rāpi, a former king, rendered”: A New Royal Inscription in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 231-262, 2021
54. ^ BMHBA 94, 17 05 artifact entry (No. P283716). (2005, November 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.ucla.edu/P283716
55. ^ G. Marchesi, "The Sumerian King List and the Early History of Mesopotamia", in:ana turri gimilli, studi dedicati alPadre Werner R. Mayer, S.J. da amici e allievi, Vicino Oriente Quader-no5, Rome: Università di Roma, pp. 231–248, 2010
56. ^ "The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature".
57. ^ "The Sumerian king list: translation". etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
58. ^ Rogers, John H. (1998). "Origins of the Ancient Constellations: I. The Mesopotamian Traditions". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 108 (1): 9–28. Bibcode:1998JBAA..108....9R.
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60. ^ UET 6, 61 + UET 6, 503 + UET 6, 691 (+) UET 6, 701 or CDLI Literary 000357, ex. 003 (P346146)
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63. ^ Cavigneaux, Antoine. “Une version Sumérienne de la légende d’Adapa (Textes de Tell Haddad X) : Zeitschrift Für Assyriologie104 (2014): 1–41.
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66. ^ Milstein, Sara J., "The “Magic” of Adapa", Texts and Contexts: The Circulation and Transmission of Cuneiform Texts in Social Space, edited by Paul Delnero and Jacob Lauinger, Berlin, München, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 191-213, 2015
67. ^ Jacobsen, Thorkild, "The Eridu Genesis", Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 100, no. 4, pp. 513–29, 1981
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72. ^ The lament for Eridug ETSCL

## Further reading

[edit]

* Espak, Peeter, "Was Eridu The First City in Sumerian Mythology", Studia in Honorem Tarmo Kulmar. When Gods Spoke: Researches and Reflections on Religious Artefacts, pp. 53-70, 2015
* Seton Lloyd, "Ur-al 'Ubaid, 'Uqair and Eridu. An Interpretation of Some Evidence from the Flood-Pit", Iraq, British Institute for the Study of Iraq, vol. 22, Ur in Retrospect. In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley, pp. 23–31, (Spring - Autumn, 1960)
* Lloyd, S., "The Oldest City of Sumeria: Establishing the origins of Eridu.", Illustrated London News Sept. 11, pp. 303-5, 1948.
* Joan Oates, "Ur and Eridu: the Prehistory", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 32-50, 1960
* Joan Oates, "Ur in Retrospect: In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley", pp. 32-50, 1960
* Mahan, Muhammed Seiab. "Topography of Eridu and its defensive fortifications", ISIN Journal 3, pp. 75-94, 2022
* Margueron, Jean, "Notes d’archéologie et d’architecture Orientales: 3: Du Nouveau Concernant Le Palais d’Eridu?", Syria, vol. 60, no. 3/4, pp. 225–31, 1983
* Quenet, Philippe, and Anne-Caroline Rendu Loisel, "La campagne du printemps 2022 à Eridu, Irak du Sud", Les Chroniques d'ARCHIMEDE 3, pp. 5-8, 2022
* Reisman, Daniel, "Ninurta’s Journey to Eridu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 24, no. 1/2, pp. 3–10, 1971
* Van Buren, E. Douglas, "Discoveries at Eridu", Orientalia, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 123–24, 1949
* [13]Yassin, Ali Majeed, "Gully erosion model of the archaeological site of Eridu Ziggurat in the southern plateau of Iraq using RS-GIS technology", Thi Qar Arts Journal 3.41, pp. 1-20, 2023 (in arabic)
* "The Ruins of Eridu, 2400 B. C.", Scientific American, vol. 83, no. 20, pp. 308–308, 1900

## External links

[edit]

* The Sumerian king list: translation, UK: Oxford
* Archaeological Photographs from Eridu, IL, USA: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
* Eridu object held at the British Museum
* Inana and Enki, The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford UK, JAB, editor: translation
* Iraq launches campaign to secure archaeological sites in Dhi Qar Al-Mashareq 2021-09-24

### Language

[edit]

* Black, Jeremy Allen; Baines, John Robert; Dahl, Jacob L.; Van De Mieroop, Marc. Cunningham, Graham; Ebeling, Jarle; Flückiger-Hawker, Esther; Robson, Eleanor; Taylor, Jon; Zólyomi, Gábor (eds.). "ETCSL: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature". Faculty of Oriental Studies (revised ed.). United Kingdom. Retrieved 23 September 2022. "The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), a project of the University of Oxford, comprises a selection of nearly 400 literary compositions recorded on sources which come from ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and date to the late third and early second millennia BCE."
* Renn, Jürgen; Dahl, Jacob L.; Lafont, Bertrand; Pagé-Perron, Émilie (2022) [1998]. "CDLI: Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative" (published 1998–2022). Retrieved 23 September 2022. "Images presented online by the research project Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) are for the non-commercial use of students, scholars, and the public. Support for the project has been generously provided by the Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS), and by the Max Planck Society (MPS), Oxford and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); network services are from UCLA's Center for Digital Humanities."
* Sjöberg, Åke Waldemar; Leichty, Erle; Tinney, Steve (2022) [2003]. "PSD: The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary" (published 2003–2022). Retrieved 23 September 2022. "The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project (PSD) is carried out in the Babylonian Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology. It is funded by the NEH and private contributions. [They] work with several other projects in the development of tools and corpora. [Two] of these have useful websites: the CDLI and the ETCSL."

* v
* t
* e

Chronology of the Neolithic period

Pre-Pottery Neolithic Pottery Neolithic

| BC | Europe | Egypt | Syria
Levant | Anatolia | Khabur | Sinjar Mountains
Assyria | Middle Tigris | Low
Mesopotamia | Iran
(Khuzistan)  | Iran | Indus/
India | China

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

11000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Early Pottery
(18,000 BC)
10000 |  |  | Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Gesher
Mureybet
(10,500 BC)  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
9000 | Jericho
Tell Abu Hureyra

8000 | Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Jericho
Tell Aswad | Göbekli Tepe
Çayönü
Aşıklı Höyük | Initial Neolithic
(Pottery)
Nanzhuangtou
(8500–8000 BC)
7000 | Egyptian Neolithic
Nabta Playa
(7500 BC)  | Çatalhöyük
(7500–5500)
Hacilar
(7000 BC)  | Tell Sabi Abyad
Bouqras | Jarmo | Ganj Dareh
Chia Jani
Ali Kosh | Mehrgarh I
6500 | Neolithic Europe
Franchthi
Sesklo
| Pre-Pottery Neolithic C
('Ain Ghazal)  | Pottery Neolithic
Tell Sabi Abyad
Bouqras | Pottery Neolithic
Jarmo | Chogha Bonut | Teppe Zagheh | Pottery Neolithic
Peiligang
(7000–5000 BC)
6000 | Pottery Neolithic
Sesklo
Dimini | Pottery Neolithic
Yarmukian
(Sha'ar HaGolan)  | Pottery Neolithic
Ubaid 0
(Tell el-'Oueili)  | Pottery Neolithic
Chogha Mish | Pottery Neolithic
Sang-i Chakmak | Pottery Neolithic
Lahuradewa

Mehrgarh II

Mehrgarh III
5600 | Faiyum A |
Amuq A  |
Halaf

Halaf-Ubaid | Umm Dabaghiya |
Samarra
(6000–4800 BC)  | Tepe Muhammad Djafar | Tepe Sialk
5200 | Linear Pottery culture
(5500–4500 BC)  |
Amuq B  | Hacilar

Mersin
24–22

Hassuna |
Ubaid 1
(Eridu 19–15)

Ubaid 2
(Hadji Muhammed)
(Eridu 14–12)  |
Susiana A  | Yarim Tepe
Hajji Firuz Tepe
4800 | Pottery Neolithic
Merimde

Amuq C  | Hacilar
Mersin
22–20  | Hassuna Late

Gawra 20  |
Tepe Sabz | Kul Tepe Jolfa
4500 |
Amuq D  | Gian Hasan
Mersin
19–17  | Ubaid 3  | Ubaid 3
(Gawra)
19–18  | Ubaid 3  | Khazineh
Susiana B

3800 | Badarian
Naqada | Ubaid 4
| Succeeded by: Historical Ancient Near East

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* IdRef

*[c.]: circa
*[Approx.]: approximately
*[fl.]: floruit ('flourished' – known to have been active at a particular time or during a particular period)
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