Lagash

Lagash or Sirpurla was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia. It is represented by a rather low, long line of ruin mounds, now known as Tell al-Hiba in Iraq, northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk. It is positioned on the dry bed of an ancient canal, some 3 miles (5 km) east of the Shatt-el-Haj, and a little less than 10 miles (16 km) north of the modern town of Shatra in the district administered from Nasiriyah.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE important -- 19:23, 2 October 2005 (UTC)heather Excavations

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lagash ruins were discovered in 1877 by Ernest de Sarzec, at that time French consul at Basra, who was allowed, by the Montefich chief, Nasir Pasha, the first Wali-Pasha or governor-general of Basra, to excavate at his pleasure in the territories subject to that official. At the outset on his own, and later as a representative of the French government, under a Turkish firman, de Sarzec continued excavations at this site, with various intermissions, until his death in 1901, when the work was continued under the supervision of Gaston Cros. The principal excavations were made in two larger mounds, one of them proving to be the site of the temple E-Ninnu - shrine of the patron god of Lagash, Nin-girsu or Ninib.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later French archeological expeditions were led by Henri de Genouillac (1929-31) and Andre Parrot (1931-33).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sumer: Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. The oldest tablets thus far discovered containing Sumerian pre-cuneiform script date to around 3500 BCE....

Babylonia: Babylonia, named for the city of Babylon, was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. Its capital was Babylon. The earliest mention of Babylon can be found in a tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd century BC....

Tell al-Hiba: REDIRECT Lagash...