26 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Drone photos reveal Venice of the Fertile Crescent

A drone survey of Lagash, a site located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, revealed that the 4,900-year-old settlement was built on four marsh islands.

The gathering of extensive data from large-scale remote sensing has “helped to rehydrate an ancient southern Mesopotamian city, tagging it as what amounted to a Venice of the Fertile Crescent.  Identifying the watery nature of this early metropolis has important implications for how urban life flourished nearly 5,000 years ago between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where modern-day Iraq lies,” Science News reports.

Emily Hammer, an anthropological archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, explained that remote-sensing data, collected mainly by a specially equipped drone, provides evidence of a vast urban settlement called Lagash, which was largely made up of four marsh islands connected by waterways.

These findings add important details to the growing consensus that southern Mesopotamian cities did not, contrary to popular belief, expand outward from the temple and administrative districts into irrigated farmlands surrounded by a single city wall.

Mud brick foundations and a ziggurat are among the remains of the 3rd millennium BC Sumerian city state of Lagash (Tell al Hiba) northeast of Nasiriyah, Iraq. (David Stanley / CC BY 2.0 )
Mud brick foundations and a ziggurat are among the remains of the 3rd millennium BC Sumerian city state of Lagash (Tell al Hiba) northeast of Nasiriyah, Iraq. (David Stanley / CC BY 2.0 )

Lagash, which is now known as Tell al-Hiba, was most likely established between 4,900 and 4,600 years ago. Excavated more than 40 years ago for the first time, it was learned that this site was abandoned around 3,600 years ago.

Previous analysis by other anthropologists, historians, and scientists indicate that Lagash was built on raised mounds in the marshes, and possibly consisted of 33 small, marsh islands.

“There could have been multiple evolving ways for Lagash to be a city of marsh islands as human occupation and environmental change reshaped the landscape,”  Emily Hammer says.

“The standard model of third millennium BCE Mesopotamian cities presents them as nuclear, compact settlements set within an irrigated agricultural hinterland, expanding continuously from a monumental religious complex. This reconstruction holds enormous influence in the comparative global study of early urbanism. UAV photos and magnetic gradiometry data captured at Lagash (Tell al-Hiba) show dense architecture and related paleoenvironmental features over c. 300 ha, revealing a city that does not conform to the standard model.”

Early Dynastic Lagash (2900–2350 BCE) was composed of spatially discrete sectors bounded by multiple surrounding walls and/or watercourses and separated by open spaces.

In fact, Lagash is characterized by dense architecture spread out over 300 hectares (approximately). Evidence also points to marshy and watery local environmental factors. This led Hammer to conclude that the city sectors originated as marsh islands.

For example, canals have been spotted on one of the islands, which may have focused on fishing and collecting reeds for construction. Evidence of gated walls, city streets, and large kilns have been found on two other islands.

Drone photos also show harbors that could connect city sectors via boat travel. The remains of potential footbridges have also been discovered, but only excavations can shed more light on the subject.

Cover Photo: LAGASH ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

Banner
Related Post

2500 Years of Animal Love in Termessos Ancient City

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

We are witnessing more and more of the unscrupulousness, cruelty and torture inflicted on our animal friends every day.These news...

Petalodus shark teeth found for the first time in China

29 August 2021

29 August 2021

A 290 million-year-old fossil of a shark with petal-shaped teeth has been discovered in China. Seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth were...

Rock Ship of Masuda, Japan’s mysterious monolith

17 April 2023

17 April 2023

Located in the Takaichi District of Nara Prefecture, Japan, the village of Asuka is famous for its mysterious stones. The...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Two mysterious stone balls were found buried in a tomb dating to 3500 BC in Orkney

2 September 2021

2 September 2021

In Orkney, archaeologists discovered two carved stone balls in a tomb dating from 3500 BC. Archaeologists are on-site at Tresness,...

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon brooches in seven graves during an excavation in Gloucestershire

5 April 2022

5 April 2022

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches, one pair in each of seven burials unearthed in an excavation...

Royal-Memorial Inscription Attributed to King Sargon II Discovered in Western Iran

25 April 2021

25 April 2021

In western Iran, Iranian archaeologists discovered a part of a royal memorial inscription attributed to the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II....

14,000-year-old settlement discovered in western Turkey

26 November 2021

26 November 2021

During the rescue excavation carried out in a cave in Dikili, İzmir, in western Turkey, 14 thousand-year-old stone tools and...

Rare Elizabethan ship discovered at a quarry

2 January 2023

2 January 2023

An Elizabethan ship in “remarkable condition” has been discovered on the lake bed of a Kent quarry, one of only...

A 2,000-year-old Roman sewage system has been discovered in western Turkey

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

The archaeological excavations carried out in the ancient city of Tripolis in the western province of Denizli’s Buldan district have...

3700 years old Brain and skin remnants discovered at Bronze Age settlement in western Türkiye

5 September 2023

5 September 2023

Archaeologists discovered, well-preserved brain and skin remnants of two individuals dating to the Bronze Age during excavations at Tavşanlı Höyük...

Archaeologists discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in eastern Iran

21 June 2022

21 June 2022

Iranian archaeologists believe they have discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in an eastern Iranian province, which they...

New Research Shows Angkor Wat’s Incredible Population Density

11 May 2021

11 May 2021

Angkor Wat was the grand capital of ancient Cambodia. The population of Angkor Wat, one of the most magnificent cities...

Largest ever Roman silver hoard in Germany found in Augsburg

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

Archaeologists in Augsburg, Germany, revealed unearthed a historical hoard including 15 kg of silver coins from the Roman Empire’s era....

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found....

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *