Girsu

Girsu (Sumerian Ĝirsu. cuneiform ĝir2-suki 𒄈𒋢𒆠) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lagash, at the site of what is now Tell Telloh in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Because of the initial velar nasal ŋ, the transcription of Ĝirsu is sometimes spelled as Ngirsu (also: G̃irsu, Girsu, Jirsu). As the religious center of the kingdom of Lagash, it contained significant temples to the god Ningirsu (E-ninnu) and his wife Bau and hosted multi-day festivals in their honor. History The city lay on a branch of the ancient Iturungal canal, the southern of two major east west canals in Mesopotamia, that also runs to Niĝin and then to Gu'abba. "Two effluents took off from the left bank of the Iturungal, the Id-Ninaki-gen-a, which over Bzeikh (Zabalam) flowed to Telloh (Girsu), al Hibba (Uru-ku, Lagas?), and Surghul (Nina) ..." Radiocarbon dating indicates that the canals running in and through Girsu date back to at least the Early Dynastic I period and went out of use after the Isin-Larsa period (2000–1800 BC). Girsu was inhabited in the Ubaid 4 (4900-4500 BC) and also the Uruk period (4200-3200 BC), with beveled rim bowls, the diagnostic pottery of that period being found. Significant levels of activity began in the Early Dynastic period (2900-2335 BC). After a brief hiatus occupation resumed in the Early Dynastic I period, continuing during the Akkadian Empire. After the decline of that empire local control of the Girsu/Lagash area was asserted under the Second Dynasty of Lagash. At the time of Gudea, during the Second Dynasty of Lagash, Girsu became the capital of the Lagash kingdom and continued to be its religious center after political power had shifted to the city of Lagash. During the Ur III period, Girsu was a major administrative center for the empire. During the Old Babylonian period Rim-Sîn II, ruler of Larsa c. 1742 BC to 1739 BC (MC), led a rebellion by a number of southern cities against the First Dynasty of Babylon which at that time was led by Samsu-iluna. The rebellious cities included Girsu. First Sealand dynasty, c. 1796–1524 BC (MC), pottery has been found at Girsu. Girsu was then abandoned aropund 1600 BC until occupation resumed in the Hellenistic period Parthian periods before ending around 200 BC. A 4th century BC bilingual Greek/Aramaic inscription was found there. A few ruler year names mention Girsu, Pirig-me of Lagash II "Year the royal measuring rope of the fields kept in Girsu was brought out", Ur III ruler Shulgi "Year the Ehalbi, (the palace) of the king, was built (in Girsu)", and Larsa ruler Gungunum "Year the canal of Girsu (called) 'Baba is abundance' was dug". Archaeology The site consists of two main mounds, one rising 50 feet above the plain and the other 56 feet. Analysis of 1968 CORONOA satelite images indicated the site has an area of about 130 hectares. A number of small mounds dot the site. The mounds are designated Tell A through Tell Y with most of them having little or no archaeological significance. The notable mounds are Tell A - Mound of the Palace. Topped by the palace of an obscure Hellenistic period (alternately Aramaic Period) ruler Adad-Nadin-Akhe based on the inscribed Adadnadinakhe bricks. The palace included a number of reused early inscribed diorite statues of Gudea. Modern excavations revealed under it a temple precinct including the E-ninnu temple of Ningirsu Tell B - Early Dynastic buildings and tablets Tell K - Maison des Fruits, a 10.5 meter by 7.30 meter temple built by Early Dynastic ruler Ur-Nanshe. It was built atop an unidentified earlier construction sealed by a 70 centimeter clay layer which the excavators named the Construction Inférieure. A number of foundation tablets and two inscribed door sockets were found Tells L/M - near city wall, temple associated structures and cones Tell P - Porte du Diable Tell V - Location of the temple of Ningešzida and the area of the site called Tablet Hill as many cuneiform tablets have been found there. Telloh was the first Sumerian site to be extensively excavated, at first under the French vice-consul at Basra, Ernest de Sarzec, in eleven campaigns between 1877 and 1900. Between excavation seasons the site was subject to extensive looking and an estimated 35 to 40 thousand cuneiform tablets entered the antiquities market. He was followed by his successor Gaston Cros from 1903–1909. All finds were divided between the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul and the Louvre Museum in Paris, Finds included an alabaster statue of a woman, with copper bracelets coated in gold and a fragment of a stone lion carved dish with a partial Sumerian inscription. In 1879 the site was visited by Hormuzd Rassam. Also found were two steatite statue portions (AO 00036 + Ist EŞEM 00438) with inscriptions by the Ur III ruler Shulgi dedicated to the local god Igalim. Excavations continued under Abbé Henri de Genouillac in 1929–1931 and under André Parrot in 1931–1933. It was at Girsu that the fragments of the Stele of the Vultures 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 2016 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 the 5th season, in autumn 2019, work concentrated on the Mound of the Palace where E-ninnu, a temple to Ningirsu, had been found in earlier seasons. 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. One of the remains was a duck-shaped bronze figurine with eyes made from bark which is thought to be dedicated to Nanshe. An Indus Valley weight was also found. In February 2023, archaeologists from British Museum and Getty Museum revealed the remains of the 4,500 year-old Sumerian Lord Palace of the Kings alongside more than 200 cuneiform tablets containing administrative records of Girsu. The E-ninnu temple (Temple of the White Thunderbird), the primary sanctuary of the Sumerian warrior god Ningirsu was also identified during the excavations. In the 2024 season 200 cuneiform tablets (including school texts) and 60 clay sealings from the Akkadian Empire period were found. Sealings include one which said "Naram-Sin, the mighty, god of Akkad, king of the four quarters (of the world): Lugal-ushumgal, the scribe, governor, your servant". A number of the interpretations of the current excavators have been challenged. Along with archaeology the site is also being stabilized, required after the early excavations and looting, and prepared for tourism. In 2023, British Museum experts have suggested the possibility that a Hellenistic shrine at Girsu was founded by Alexander the Great, built atop the ruins of E-ninnu. According to the researchers, recent discoveries suggest that "this site honours Zeus and two divine sons. The sons are Heracles and Alexander." Anzagar Referred to as Anzagar-Umma (An-za-gar3-Ummaki). An-za-gar3 translates to "fortified village" and there were a number of similar toponyms in the region, such as An-za-gar3-giškiri6-Zabalam4ki, An-za-gar3-a-šag4-La2-mah, An-za-gar3-Da-da, and An-za3-gar3-Nig2-ul-pa-e3. The 27th year name of Babylon ruler Sumulael was "Year the city walls of Kutha and Anzagar-urgi were built". It is thought to have been on the eastern border of the Ur III Umma province border with the Girsu-Lagash province. It is known to have been on a canal (possibly the Udaga canal and/or Namhani canal) based on a text reading "during three days, floated the boats from Anzagar-Umma to Girsu, (and) towed the boats from Girsu to Garšana", In another shipping text merchanise from Garšana was towed up the Udaga canal to the junction with the Namhani canal at Anzagar and then floated down to Girsu on that canal. In the Ur III period a transportation and messenger resthouse, é-kas4 An-za-gàr I7 Gir-suki, was established in Anzagar similar to those established in nearby Gu'abba and Kinunir. Anzagar is known to have been a transit point on the route from Ur to Anshan. Anzagar lay near to Kesh, Diniktum and to Irisaĝrig. Tell al-Wilayah has been suggested as a location. It held a temple of Ninegal and shrines or sanctuaries of Ninḫursaĝ, PAP.NAGAR, Nergal, Allātum, and Inanna. It is known that there was a sacristy, for storing jewels etc, at the temple of Allatum at Anzagar. Gallery See also Cities of the ancient Near East Garšana Gu'abba List of Mesopotamian deities List of Mesopotamian dynasties Niĝin Umma–Lagash war Notes Further reading Barrelet, Marie-Thérèse, "Une ‘Construction Enigmatique’ a Tello", Iraq, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 100–18, 1965 [15] Cauvin, Marie-Claire, "Tello et l'origine de la houe au Proche-Orient", Paléorient, vol. 5, pp. 193–206, 1979 Cros, Gaston, "Note rectificative: Sur le casque chaldéen de Tello: Lettre de M. le commandant Gaston Cros", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 88–89, 1906 de Vaumas, Etienne, "L’Ecoulement Des Eaux En Mesopotamie et La Provenance Des Eaux de Tello", Iraq, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 81–99, 1965 Dangin, François Thureau, "Notice sur la troisième collection de tablettes: Découverte par M. de Sarzec à Tello", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 67–102, 1902 Donbaz, Veysel, and Foster, Benjamin R., "Sargonic Texts from Telloh in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum", Occasional Publications of the Babylonian Fund 5, Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1982 ISBN 9780934718448 [16] Chiera, Edward, "Selected temple accounts from Telloh, Yokha and Drehem", University of Pennsylvania, 1921 Egberts, E, Jotheri, J, Auzina, D, Michele, AD & Rey, S, "The waterscape of ancient Girsu: The geomorphology of a city channel", in Sumer and the sea. Deltas, shoreline, and urban water management in 3rd millennium Mesopotamia: Proceedings of the 1st ARWA International Research Workshop (Rome 2–4 June 2021, vol. 3, Aratta III Studies in archaeology & history, from Mesopotamia to the Indus Valley, Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, pp. 101–112, 2025 Benjamin R. Foster, "The Sargonic Victory Stele from Telloh", Iraq, Vol. 47, pp. 15–30, 1985 Foster, Benjamin R., "Sargonic Texts from Telloh in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Part 2", ISD LLC, 2018 ISBN 9781948488082 de Genoutllac, H., "Rapport sur les travaux de la mission de Tello: II campagne: II E Campagne : 1929—1930", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 169–86, 1930 Leon Heuzey, "Mission française de Chaldée: Reprise des fouilles de Tello", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–4, 1904 [17] Huber, Eva-Maria, "Girsu-Texte der Akkade-Zeit im Louvre", 2022 Lambert, Maurice, "L’occupation Du Girsu Par Urlumma Roi d’Umma", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 81–84, 1965 Laurito, Romina, "Clay sealings from Telloh: new evidence from a 3rd millennium BC "corpus"", Pathways through Arslantepe. Essays in Honour of Marcella Frangipane, hrsg. v. Balossi Restelli, Francesca, 2020 Parrot, André, "Les fouilles de Tello et de Senkereh-Larsa: Campagne 1932-1933 (Rapport Préliminaire)", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 169–82, 1933 Parrot, André, "Fouilles de Tello: Campagne 1931-1932 (Rapport Préliminaire)", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 45–57, 1932 Sébastien Rey, "For the Gods of Girsu: City-State Formation in Ancient Sumer", Archaeopress Archaeology, 2016 ISBN 978-1784913892 Rey, Sébastien, and Fatma Husain, "Tello/Girsu: New Research on the Sacred City of the State of Lagash", Proceedings of the Workshop held at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna, April 2016, pp. 183–194, 2022 Rey, Sébastien, et al., "Tello/Girsu: First Results of the Twenty-Second Archæological Season (Autumn 2016)", Sumer 65, pp. 111–131, 2019 Rey, Sebastien, "A Seleucid cult of Sumerian royal ancestors in Girsu", In Context: The Reade Festschrift. Edited by Irving Finkel and St John Simpson. Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology, pp. 56–81, 2020 [18] Thureau-Dangin, François, "Note sur la troisième collection de tablettes découvertes par M. de Sarzec à Telloh, lue à la séance du 10 janvier 1902", Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 46.1, pp. 77–94, 1902 [19] Witzig, Sophia, Les gouverneurs de Girsu/Lagas sous la IIIe dynastie d'Ur (2112-2002 AEC)", Dissertation, Université Lumière-Lyon II, 2023 External links The world's oldest bridge is being preserved in Iraq - British Museum Excavations at Girsu: video - British Museum Recent excavations at Girsu uncovered innovative civilization-saving technology of Ancient Sumerians - Arkeonews - Leman Altuntaş - 19 November 2023 Iorizzo, Ellie (30 November 2023). "British Museum heritage initiative helps discover remains of lost palace in Iraq". The Independent.: CS1 maint: url-status (link) The British Museum (20 April 2023). "Excavating Cuneiform Tablets in Iraq with the Girsu Project | Curator's Corner S8 Ep3". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 Aug 2025. Alberge, Dalya (15 March 2025). "Spreadsheets of Empire: Red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds". The Guardian.: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Simpson, Craig (17 November 2023). "Ancient Sumerians invented water flumes thousands of years earlier than previously thought". The Telegraph.: CS1 maint: url-status (link) The British Museum (29 August 2024). "Archaeologists keep re-excavating this 4000-year-old brick | Curator's Corner S9 Ep6". YouTube.