Eridu

A tell site at Abu Shahrain, identified as the ancient Eridu, the oldest city of Sumer - possibly the oldest in history. Occupation began in the 'Ubaid period, the earliest phase of which is named after this site, in the mid 6th millennium BC. A series of temples of the 'Ubaid and Uruk periods have been found, decorated with typical Sumerian buttresses and niches in the walls. Its long succession of superimposed temples portrayed the growth and development of an elaborate mud-brick architecture. A palace of the Early Dynastic period c 2500 BC has also been excavated. It was important throughout Mesopotamian history as a religious center and sanctuary of Enki (Ea). Outside the temple precinct, a large cemetery of the late 'Ubaid period was found; containing around 1000 graves. Grave goods include painted pottery vessels, terra-cotta figurines, and baked clay tools, such as sickles and shaft-hole axes. The site declined in importance with the rise of Ur under its 3rd dynasty (c 2100 BC) and was occupied until around c 600 BC.

The most southerly and possibly also the earliest city of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia. A sounding excavated underneath a ziggurat of the late 3rd millennium BC revealed a sequence of 18 religious buildings. The earliest building was a simple mud-brick shrine resting on virgin sand. By the time of its tenth rebuilding it had acquired the standard form of the Sumerian temple, with tripartite plan consisting of a long central room, flanked by symmetrically grouped side chambers, and was built on a substantial platform. The earliest phase of occupation, named the Eridu phase, is dated to c5000 bc; this is followed by the Hajji Muhammed phase and both of these precede the Ubaid culture proper; they are often regarded as early or proto-Ubaid. The settlement at Eridu can be regarded as proto-urban from the beginning; it grew into a substantial city by the Early Dynastic period; and two royal palaces of this period have been excavated. Outside the temple precinct a large cemetery of the late Ubaid period was found; this contained perhaps 1000 graves, of which c200 were excavated. Grave goods include painted pottery vessels, terracotta figurines and baked clay tools, such as sickles and shaft-hole axes. One contained a model of a sailing boat, and is a very early indication of the use of wind power to propel boats.