Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian media: Israeli vehicles fire at eastern Gaza City.
Al-Qassam Brigades: We will hand over the body of one of the occupation prisoners that was exhumed today in the Gaza Strip at 9 pm Gaza time.
Al Mayadeen correspondent to southern Lebanon: One martyr and one wounded in the initial toll of an Israeli drone strike targeting the town of Al-Bayyad.
Local sources report that a car bomb explosion has targeted the General Security headquarters near the Baniyas Court in the Tartous countryside, western Syria
Israeli artillery strikes target Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian media: IOF arrest leader Jamal al-Tawil, who was liberated as part of the prisoner exchange, from his home in al-Bireh.
Palestinian media: 'Israel' launches two airstrikes on eastern Khan Younis, Gaza.
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza: Israeli occupation forces carry out demolitions in eastern Gaza City.
Venezuelan Foreign Ministry: The National Armed Forces will remain on alert and mobilized in the face of this extremely dangerous provocation.
Venezuelan Foreign Ministry: This is not a defense exercise, but rather a military aggression aimed at turning the Caribbean into a space for violence and US hegemony.

Archaeologists find remains of 4,500 y/o lost ancient palace in Iraq

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 21 Feb 2023 23:27
  • 5 Shares
3 Min Read

Archaeologists discover the remains of a lost palace in the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu in southern Iraq.

  • x
  • Archaeologists find chaeologists have discovered a lost palace in ancient city of Girsu in Iraq. (Anadolu Agency via Getty images)
    Archaeologists find a lost palace in the ancient city of Girsu in Iraq. (Anadolu Agency)

Archaeologists have found the 4,500-year-old remains of a lost palace from the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu in southern Iraq.

Technology and drone photography were used by researchers to identify the subsurface remains of a previously unknown huge complex at the archaeology site Tablet Hill in the Iraqi city of Tello. Excavations damaged Tablet Hill during the 19th century and conflict during the 20th century.

During a press conference at the Iraq embassy in London on Friday, Tablet Hill was described as the "cradle of civilization" and "one of the most important heritage sites in the world that very few people know about."

One of the main reasons would be Girsu's status as one of the world's earliest-known cities. Sumerians also invented writing and established the first cities and first codes of law between 3,500 and 2,000 BCE, making them one of the ancient world's first civilizations.

Last fall at Tablet Hill, mudbrick walls were identified, and more than 200 cuneiform tablets with ancient Sumerian writing were found in spoil heaps, piles of material discarded from excavations during the 19th century. The tablets, detailing the administrative records of Girsu, were saved and transported to the Iraq Museum in Bagdad.

Related News

PKK withdrawal from Turkey marks key step in peace process: AKP

PKK announces full withdrawal from Turkey to Northern Iraq

Archaeologists also discovered the Eninnu temple, the main sanctuary of the Sumerian god Ningirsu, the ancient city's namesake. The Temple of the White Thunderbird was one of the most important of the historical region of Mesopotamia. Before its recent discovery, the temple was only known by ancient inscriptions discovered at the fieldwork site 140 years ago.

Read: Ancient manuscripts preservation, digitalization underway in Iraq

Heritage and the British Museum and Iraq's State Board of Antiquities made the discovery through a multi-year joint initiative, with funding from the J. Paul Getty Trust and Museum. The project specifically "addresses the damage caused by early excavations and modern looting" through site management and the field training of archaeology students and conservators in Iraq, a press statement said.

Girsu project director Dr. Sebastien Rey told the PA news agency during the press conference on Friday how the discovery finally made him feel validated.

"I remember when I started in 2016 no one believed me," he said. "I went to international conferences and everyone basically told me, 'Oh no you're making it up, you're wasting your time, you're wasting British museum UK government funding' – that's what they were telling me," he added, stressing that nobody supported him and whoever believed in this project, but they "just persevered".

"Of course, there was the research element and also the training, even if we had not discovered the temple it still would have been an amazing experience but the cherry on the cake was the temple."

Read: Underground door unopened for 2,634 years found in Iraq's Ninawa

  • Iraq
  • Archaeologists

Most Read

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, during a speech televised on October 22, 2025 (Al-Quds Brigades Military Media)

Al-Quds Brigades' Abu Hamza mourns leaders, vows continued resistance

  • Politics
  • 22 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Delta Air Lines flight lands at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Las Vegas (AP)
Politics

Nearly 3,800 US flights disrupted amid ongoing government shutdown

FILE - The Amazon logo is pictured at the Amazon Robotic Sorting Fulfillment Center in Madison County, Miss., Aug. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Economy

Amazon to cut 30,000 jobs in largest layoff in company history

Eurofighter Typhoon Spain's Air Force fighter jets fly above the military parade marking 'Día de la Hispanidad', or Hispanic Day, in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP)
Politics

UK sells 20 Eurofighter jets to Türkiye in £8bn defense agreement

Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the northern port in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

RSF tightens El Fasher siege as Sudan risks fragmentation: Reuters

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS