In the southern part of Iraq, the city of Tello, a group of archaeologists, part of the Girsu project, found a temple and a palace dating back to the third millennium BC.
The Girsu Project is a group of specialists, including archaeologists from the British Museum and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq (SBAH). Their cooperation is to protect heritage that is threatened with destruction.
The city of Tello was called Girsa in ancient times. It was located in Sumer, a civilization that is considered one of the first among scientists. It was there that the first cities arose with ramifications that united, for example, due to the use of irrigation (irrigation) from cities to agricultural settlements, which also played an important role in a good harvest. It was in Sumer that writing and the first legal concepts were born. Many temples and monuments were also built in the cities.
Little is known about the city of Hirsu itself. For the first time it was possible to learn about it 140 years ago, when excavations were carried out in the 19th century, and the remains of the city were discovered. Then they found a large number of cuneiform tablets and various art objects. All this was kept in the British Museum, but unfortunately, due to the danger in the region, excavations were no longer carried out. But experts studied the ancient inscriptions on the tablets, and with the help of modern research it became known about the structures.
After excavating the buildings, archaeologists found more than 200 cuneiform tablets with administrative data about the city. Scientists came to the conclusion that this building is a palace. Another important find is the remains of a temple, which is located in the sacred place of Urukuga. The name of the temple translates as "white bird of thunder", apparently it was a sacred place dedicated to the god of floods and thunderstorms, Ningurs (according to myths). This is where the name of the city comes from. Based on the knowledge obtained from the inscriptions on the tablets, this temple is one of the most important in Mesopotamia (the territory of modern southern Iraq).
One of the 200 cuneiform tablets found. Girsu Project
For these excavations, the Gears project team used "remote sensing". This is a method of searching for structures underground without digging. Drones came in handy. This is how a more precise place for excavation is established.
Temple of Ningirsu found at Girsu. The Girsu Project
