.jpg) The ruins of Eridu | |
  Eridu Shown within Iraq | |
| 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″N45°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 | |
| 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 |
 Interactive map of Eridu | |
| Official name | Tell Eridu Archaeological Site |
| Part of | Ahwar of Southern Iraq |
| Criteria | Mixed: (iii)(v)(ix)(x) |
| Reference | 1481-007 |
| Inscription | 2016 (40thSession) |
| Area | 33 ha (0.13 sq mi) |
| Buffer zone | 1,069 ha (4.13 sq mi) |
| Coordinates | 30°49′1″N45°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 atTell Abu Shahrain (Arabic:تل أبو شهرين), also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, anarchaeological site inLower Mesopotamia. It is located inDhi Qar Governorate,Iraq, near the modern city ofBasra. Eridu is traditionally considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia based on theSumerian King List. Located 24 km (15 mi) south-southwest of the ancient site ofUr, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration ofSumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. The city gods of Eridu wereEnki and his consortDamkina. Enki, later known as Ea, was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live inAbzu, 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 andlapis 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 byLagash's rulerUr-Baba) and a sanctuary of Inanna of Eridu (built by Ur III rulerUr-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 ofBabylon, containing the temple called theEsagila as well as the temple ofAnnunitum, among others, was also named Eridu.[5]
Eridu is located on a natural hill in a basin approximately 15 miles (24 km) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep, which is separated from the Euphrates River by a sandstone ridge called theHazem.[6] This basin, theAs 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 theHammar 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]
.jpg)
The site was initially excavated byJohn 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 byR. Campbell Thompson from April 10 until May 8 in 1918, andH. 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 toc. 2000 BC. The blue color was achieved withcobalt, long before this technique emerged in Egypt.[17]
This lump of glass is currently dated to the 21st century BC or even earlier, and is considered as perhaps the earliest such glass object in the world in theHistory of glass. It was produced during theAkkadian Empire or the earlyUr III period.[18]
Excavation there resumed from 1946 to 1949 underFuad Safar andSeton 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).[19][20][21][22][23] 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 m × 3 m (6 ft 7 in × 9 ft 10 in) 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.[24] These archaeological investigations showed that, according toA. 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 increasingsalinity produced by continuous irrigation, and the city was abandoned in 600 BC.[25] In 1990 the site was visited byA. M. T. Moore who found two areas of surface pottery kilns not noted by the earlier excavators.[26]
In October 2014, Franco D’Agostino visited the site in preparation for the coming resumption of excavation, noting a number of inscribedAmar-Sin brick fragments on the surface.[27] 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.[28][29][30] 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.[31]
In March 2006,Giovanni Pettinato and S. Chiod fromRome'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.[32][33] 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).[34] Most of the bricksin question were returned to Ur in 1962 for use in restoration efforts.[9]
The urban nucleus of Eridu wasEnki'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.[35] His consortNinhursag had a nearby temple atUbaid.[36]
During the Ur III period, Ur-Nammu had a ziggurat built over the remains of previous temples. Aside fromEnmerkar of Uruk (as mentioned in theAratta epics), several later historical Sumerian kings are said in inscriptions found here to have worked on or renewed thee-abzu temple, includingElili of Ur;Ur-Nammu,Shulgi andAmar-Sin ofUr-III, andNur-Adad ofLarsa.[37][38]
| 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 |
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 calledCity Laments developed during theIsin-Larsa period, of which theLament for Ur is the most famous. These laments had a number of sections (kirugu) of which only fragments have been recovered. TheLament for Eridu describes the fall of that city.[39][40]
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 ofE-maḫ, holyDamgalnuna, 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.[41]
._From_Eridu_(Tell_Abu_Shahrain)%2c_Iraq._3500-2800_BCE._Iraq_Museum%2c_Baghdad.jpg)
Eridu is one of the earliest settlements in the region, foundedc. 5400 BC during the earlyUbaid period, at that time close to thePersian Gulf near the mouth of theEuphrates, 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 theUr 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.[19]
.jpg)
With possible breaks in occupation in theEarly Dynastic III andAkkadian Empire periods, the city was inhabited until theNeo-Babylonian Empire, though in later times it was primarily a cultic site.
During theUbaid period the site extended out to an area of about 12 hectares (about 30 acres). Twelve neolithic clay tokens, the precursor toProto-cuneiform, were found in the Ubaid levels of the site.[42][43][44] Eighteen superimposed mudbrick temples at the site underlie the unfinishedziggurat ofAmar-Sin (c. 2047–2039 BC). Levels XIX to VI were from the Ubaid period and Levels V to I were dated to theUruk period.[45] 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.[46][47][48][49] Occupation increased in the Early Dynastic period with a monumental 100 m × 100 m (330 ft × 330 ft) palace being constructed.[50] An inscription ofElulu, a ruler of theFirst Dynasty of Ur (c. 2600 BC), was found at Eridu.[51] On a statue of the Early Dynastic ruler ofLagash namedEntemena (c. 2400 BC), it reads, "he built Ab-zupasira for Enki, king of Eridu ...",[52]
Eridu was active during theThird Dynasty of Ur (22nd to 21st century BC) and royal building activity is known from inscribed bricks notably those ofUr-Nammu from his ziggurat marked "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, the one who built the temple of the god Enki in Eridu."[53] Three Third Dynasty rulers designated Year Names based on the appointment of anen(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.
After the fall of Ur III the site was occupied and active during theIsin-Larsa period (early 2nd Millennium BC) as evidenced by a Year Name ofNur-Adad, ruler of Larsa "Year the temple of Enki in Eridu was built" and prior texts of Isin rulersIshbi-Erra andIshme-Dagan showing control over Eridu.[54] Inscribed construction bricks of Nur-Adad have also been found at Eridu.[55] This continued in theOld 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"
In an inscription ofKurigalzu I (c. 1375 BC), a ruler of theKassite dynasty one of his epitaphs is "[he one who ke]eps the sanctuary in Eridu in order".[56]
An inscription of theSecond Sealand Dynastic rulerSimbar-shipak (c. 1021–1004 BCE) mentions a priest of Eridu.[57]
TheNeo-Assyrian emperorSargon II (722–705 BCE) awardedandurāru-status (described as "a periodic reinstatement of goods and persons, alienated because of want, to their original status") to Eridu.[58]
The Neo-Babylonian rulerNebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) built at Eridu as evidenced by inscribed bricks found there.[59]
In some, but not all, versions of theSumerian 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 andAlalngar.[60][61]
[nam]-lugalan-ta èd-dè-a-ba
[eri]dukinam-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[62]
In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was the home of theAbzu temple of the godEnki, the Sumerian counterpart of theAkkadian 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 withAnu andEnlil. His kingdom was the sweet waters that lay below earth (Sumerianab=water;zu=far).[63]The bright star Canopus was known to the ancient Mesopotamians and represented the city of Eridu in theThree Stars EachBabylonian star catalogues and later around 1100 BC on theMUL.APIN tablets.[64] 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 theprecession 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 ofUr this was the case only 60 years later.[65]
In the flood myth tablet[66] found in Ur, how Eridu and Alulim were chosen by gods as first city and first priest-king is described in more detail.[67] The following is the English translation of the tablet:[68]
(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 ...
Adapa, a man of Eridu, is depicted as an early culture hero. Although earlier tradition, Me-Turan/Tell-Haddad tablet, describesAdapa as postdiluvian ruler of Eridu,[69] in late tradition,Adapa came to be viewed as Alulim’s vizier,[70] and he was considered to have brought civilization to the city as the sage of KingAlulim.[71][72]
The stories ofInanna, goddess ofUruk, describe how she had to go to Eridu in order to receive thegifts 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.[73][74]
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) | ||||||
— Sumerian King List (SKL) | ||||||
| 1 |  | Alulim 𒀉𒇻𒅆 | King of Sumer King of Eridu | fl. c. 2874 BC (28800–67200 years) |
| |
| 2 | .jpg) | Alalngar 𒀉𒋭𒃻 | Brother of Alulim (?) | King of Sumer King of Eridu | reigned c. 2866 BC (36000 years) |
|
— SKL | ||||||
| 3 | Amelon 𒁹𒄠𒈨𒇻𒀭𒈾 | King of Sumer King of Eridu | r. c. 2900 BC (46800 years) |
| ||
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)TheElectronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), a project of theUniversity 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.
Images presented online by the research projectCuneiform 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 theMellon Foundation, theNational Science Foundation (NSF), theNational Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), theInstitute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS), and by theMax Planck Society (MPS), Oxford andUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); network services are from UCLA's Center for Digital Humanities.
ThePennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project (PSD) is carried out in the Babylonian Section of theUniversity 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.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
