Coordinates: 31°37′N 46°9′E / 31.617°N 46.15°E
| Ancient Mesopotamia |
|---|
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| Euphrates · Tigris |
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Empires / Cities
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| Sumer |
| Eridu · Kish · Uruk · Ur Lagash · Nippur · Ngirsu |
| Elam |
| Susa |
| Akkadian Empire |
| Akkad · Mari |
| Amorites |
| Isin · Larsa |
| Babylonia |
| Babylon · Chaldea |
| Assyria |
| Assur · Nimrud Dur-Sharrukin · Nineveh |
| Mesopotamia |
| Sumer (king list) |
| Kings of Assyria Kings of Babylon |
| Enûma Elish · Gilgamesh |
| Assyro-Babylonian religion |
| Sumerian · Elamite |
| Akkadian · Aramaic |
| Hurrian · Hittite |
Ngirsu (cuneiform:?; Sumerian:Ĝirsu; Akkadian:?) is modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, and it was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Lagash. Because of the initial nasal velar ŋ, the transcription of Ĝirsu is usually spelled as Ngirsu (also: G̃irsu, Girsu, Jirsu) to avoid confusion.
Contents |
History
Ngirsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5th millennium BC), but significant levels of activity began in the Early Dynastic period (25th-24th centuries BC). At the time of Gudea, during the Second Dynasty of Lagash, Ngirsu became the capital of the Lagash kingdom and continued to be its religious center after political power had shifted to city of Lagash.
During the Third Dynasty of Ur, Ngirsu was a major administrative center for the empire. After the fall of Ur, Ngirsu declined in importance, but remained inhabited until the 2nd century BC.
Archaeology
Telloh was the first Sumerian site to be extensively excavated, at first under the French vice-consul at Basra, Ernest de Sarzec, from 1877 to 1900, [1] followed by his successor Gaston Cros from 1903–1909. [2] Excavations continued under Abbé Henri de Genouillac in 1929–1931[3] [4] and under André Parrot in 1931–1933. [5] It was at Girsu that the fragments of the Stele of the Vultures were found.
The site has suffered from poor excavation standards and also from illegal excavations. About 50,000 cuneiform tablets have been recovered from the site. [6]
See also
Notes
- ^ Découvertes en Chaldée, E. de Sarzec, Paris, Leroux, 1884–1893
- ^ Nouvelles fouilles de Tello, Gaston Cros, Paris, 1910
- ^ Fouilles de Telloh I: Epoques presargoniques, Abbé Henri de Genouillac, Paris, 1934
- ^ Fouilles de Telloh II: Epoques d'Ur III Dynastie et de Larsa, Abbé Henri de Genouillac, Paris, 1936
- ^ A. Parrot, Tello: vingt campagnes de fouilles 1877–1933, Paris, A. Michel ,1948
- ^ Telloh Tablets at HAVERFORD LIBRARY
External links
- Tello (Girsu) (thebritishmuseum.ac.uk)
- Images of Girsu - Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
- Stele of the Vultures at the Louvre
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