Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1991 - 114

number of late Early Dynastic cuneiform tablets found
at the site.
6. Adab (Bismya). The remains here span at least the
3rd millennium and first quarter of the 2nd millennium
b.c., the Early Dynastic-Old Babylonian periods. It was
excavated in the early 19th century by the University of
Chicago, under Edgar James Banks.

Ivory headfrom Nimrud
Woolley during the years 1922-1934. Woolley excavated
a large cemetery dating to the mid-3 rd millennium
(2600-2500 b.c.). Known as the Royal Cemetery, it included a number of richly furnished burials. Woolley
also uncovered the temple of the moon god Nanna/Suen
(Nanna is Sumerian; Suen, Akkadian), including the
ziggurat, later restored by the Iraqi DirectorateGeneral of Antiquities. The finds from Ur were divided
among the Iraq Museum, the British Museum, and
The University Museum.
3. Uruk (Warka). This is the site of Eanna, the temple
of the goddess of love and war, Inanna/Ishtar. Eanna's
ziggurat is relatively well preserved. Warka is perhaps
most significant as the only site in southern Mesopotamia with substantial exposed remains, including a ziggurat dedicated to the sky-god Anu, dating to the late
4th millennium (ca. 3400-3100 b.c.), the late Uruk
period.
4. Larsa (Senkereh). This city-state alternated with
Isin in controlling southern Mesopotamia in the first
two centuries of the 2nd millennium b.c. Under its
Amorite dynasty, Larsa was dominant from the mid19th to early 18th centuries b.c. Larsa's ruler, Rim-Suen,
was defeated by Hammurabi of Babylon. French archaeologists, under the direction of André Parrot, began excavations here in 1933, and the French continue
to monitor this site today. Major finds include the palace
of Nur-Adad (ca. 1865-1850 b.c.) and Ebabbar, temple
of the sun god Shamash.
5. Shuruppak (Fara). An important site of the Early
Dynastic period (the classical Sumerian city-state
period dating from 2900 to 2350 b.c.), it was excavated
in 1902-03 by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft and
in 1931 by The University Museum of the University of
Pennsylvania. It is perhaps most significant for the large
40 Archaeology

7. Isin (Bahriyat). The city-states Isin and Larsa contested the rule of southern Mesopotamia in the early
2nd millennium b.c. Isin assumed control, under its
king, Ishbi-Erra, when the Third Dynasty of Ur collapsed at the end of the 3rd millennium b.c. and continued as dominant power until the mid-19th century
b.c. Isin has been excavated since early 1973 by a German expedition. Major finds include a temple dedicated
to Isin's tutelary deity, Gula, a goddess associated with
sickness and healing, as well as the underworld. The
temple dates to the latter half of the 2nd millennium b.c.
8. Nippur (Niffar). As the site of Ekur, the temple of
Enlil, the pre-eminent deity of the Sumerian pantheon,
Nippur was the major religious center of Mesopotamia
in the 3rd and early 2nd millennia b.c. The site was
occupied from the 5th millennium b.c. through a.d. 800.
Nippur was the site of the first American excavations
in Mesopotamia, undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania from 1889 to 1900. It was explored by the
Oriental Institute during the 1950s and early 1960s in
conjunction with The University Museum and, later,
with the American Schools of Oriental Research. Excavations continue today. The ziggurat associated
with Enlil's temple is visible on the eastern side of
the site.
9. Wasit. Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, Viceroy of
Iraq under the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik, built
Wasit as a garrison city in a.d. 703-705. It was completely abandoned by 1695, in large part because of a
change in the course of the Tigris. The most prominent
ruin, the so-called Manara, is located in the eastern part
of the site. It consists of a monumental gateway covered
by a pointed arch and flanked on either side by minaret
towers. The Manara served as the entrance to a building
whose main feature was an octagonal mausoleum.
10. Umma ( Jokha). A city-state with an important occupation in the Early Dynastic period, Umma is perhaps best known from its generations-long battle with
the city-state of Lagash over border territory and water
January/February
(see "Timelines," Archaeology,
1991). Never scientifically excavated, it was subject to
apparently large-scale illicit excavations in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. Many late-3rd millennium
b.c. tablets from Umma are spread over the world in
various collections.
11. Lagash (al-Hiba)

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Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1991

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1991