The ancient city of Dūr-Šarrukīn, meaning “fortress of Sargon”, has long held mysteries that puzzled historians and archaeologists. Located in modern-day Khorsabad, Iraq, this ancient Mesopotamian site was home to King Sargón II, ruler of Assyria from 721-704 BCE. One enigma that has intrigued experts for over a century involves a series of five symbols— […]
Mesopotamia
Posted inAntiquity
Iddin-Sin’s Letter, Written 4000 Years Ago, Is the Earliest Known Complaint from a Son to His Mother
We don’t know what Zinu, a woman living in the Mesopotamian city of Larsa (about 15 miles southeast of Uruk in present-day Iraq), thought when she received the letter from her son Iddin-Sin. The young man, who was likely studying at a school in the kingdom of the famous Hammurabi, bitterly complained that the clothes […]
Posted inArchaeology
Giddan/Eddana, The Forgotten Twin City of Dura-Europos
The ancient city of Dura-Europos in modern-day Syria is well known for its exceptional state of preservation. Often compared to Pompeii, this ancient settlement provides a remarkable window into the Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman periods. However, while Dura-Europos has garnered significant attention, there’s another ancient city, just a few kilometers downstream on the Euphrates River, […]
Posted inAntiquity, Archaeology
The First Museum in History Was Created in 530 BC in the City of Ur by Princess Ennigaldi
Archaeologist Leonard Woolley made amazing discoveries during his life, he directed with T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) the excavations of Carchemish, he found the statue-biography of King Idrimi, and the geological evidence of the flood told in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Woolley is most renowned for his excavations in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur […]
Posted inAntiquity
Eridu, the First City in History According to Mesopotamian Sources
Near the present-day city of Basra in Iraq, and about 12 kilometers southwest of the site of ancient Ur, is the site of Eridu (Eridug in Sumerian), the southernmost of all the great Mesopotamian cities and, according to the Sumerian King List, the oldest city in history. The mound that housed ancient Eridu was identified […]
Posted inArchaeology, Science
Mesopotamian Bricks Reveal Data on a Mysterious Anomaly in the Earth’s Magnetic Field 3,000 Years Ago
Scientists have discovered new information about a mystery in Earth’s magnetic field from 3,000 years ago. They found this by studying old bricks from ancient Mesopotamia, which is now part of Iraq. The bricks were made long ago and have the names of kings from that time written on them. This lets archaeologists know when […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Three qanat systems built by the Parthians and the Sassanids in Iraq between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD uncovered in Iraq
Professor Ali Obeid Shilgam, the Director General of the Department of Archaeological Research in Iraq, announced the findings during archaeological survey work in the Diyala region, where three qanat systems dating from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD were uncovered. Qanats, also known as underground aqueducts, are among the oldest irrigation systems […]
Posted inAntiquity, Prehistory
A single family remains in the Erbil citadel, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world
The Near and Middle East are full of cities of proven antiquity, such as Byblos, Sidon, Jericho, Susa… Less well known is the city of Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, at the center of which is a fortified mound that claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world: the Erbil Citadel. In November […]
Posted inAntiquity
A 4,500-year-old Mesopotamian pillar contains the first deciphered inscription about border disputes
A marble pillar or stele that has been preserved in the British Museum for 150 years bears a cuneiform inscription, deciphered in late 2018, and which has turned out to be the first known record of a border dispute. It also mentions, for the first time, the term no-man’s-land. The pillar is Mesopotamian and about […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Dur-Kurigalzu ziggurat that medieval travelers mistook for the Tower of Babel
The Dur-Kurigalzu ziggurat, mistaken for the Tower of Babel due to proximity to Baghdad, is a historically rich edifice at risk from invasions, urban expansion, and natural factors. Constructed around 1400 BC and showcasing ancient building techniques, its preservation is crucial for historical learning.
