Girsu

Girsu, the site of Tello, was the religious centre of the Sumerian state of Lagash and one of the first Mesopotamian cities to be excavated, by French teams from 1877, whose finds included the statues of Gudea and tens of thousands of administrative tablets that opened up Sumerian language and administration to scholarship. A recent British Museum project has worked here, and among its results is the identification and conservation of a mudbrick structure spanning an ancient watercourse, dated to around 2000 BC and presented as the oldest known bridge in the world, along with the sacred precinct of the god Ningirsu. The site is a low mound complex in flat farmland, with excavation areas and conservation shelters over the main structures.

History

Girsu, at the site of Tell Telloh, lay on a branch of the ancient Iturungal canal, and radiocarbon dating shows its canals go back at least to the Early Dynastic I period. In the time of Gudea it became the capital of the Lagash kingdom, and from 1877 to 1900 the French vice-consul at Basra, Ernest de Sarzec, excavated it in eleven campaigns, the first extensive excavation of a Sumerian site (Wikipedia, Girsu).

What you'll find

• The ancient bridge - the mudbrick span over a dried watercourse.
• The Ningirsu precinct - the excavated sacred area of the city god.
• Conservation shelters - covers put up over the principal structures.
• The mound complex - the low tells spread across the fields.

When to go

November to March; the southern plain is severe in summer and there is no shade. Excavation seasons run in the cooler months and may affect access. Mornings are best.

What to expect

Everything is mudbrick and low. Access requires permission and a driver who knows the route. There is no visitor infrastructure. The Gudea statues and the tablets are in the Louvre, the British Museum and Baghdad rather than on site.

Nearby

Nasiriyah lies south; Uruk is northwest.

Key facts