Eridu
The ruins of Eridu in 2011.
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 Shown within Iraq
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| Location | Tell Abu Shahrain, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq |
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| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 30°48′57″N 45°59′46″E / 30.81583°N 45.99611°ECoordinates: 30°48′57″N 45°59′46″E / 30.81583°N 45.99611°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | At most 10 ha (25 acres) |
| History | |
| Founded | Approximately 54th century BCE |
| Abandoned | Approximately 6th century BCE |
Eridu (Cuneiform: NUN.KI ; Sumerian: eriduki; Akkadian: irîtu modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world. Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. These buildings were made of mud brick and built on top of one another. With the temples growing upward and the village growing outward, a larger city was built. In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home of Enki, later known by the Akkadians as Ea, who was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem.
The site at Tel Abu Shahrain, near Basra, has been excavated 4 times. It was initially excavated by John George Taylor in 1855, R. Campbell Thompson in 1918, and H.R. Hall in 1919. Excavation there resumed from 1946 to 1949 under Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage. These archaeological investigations showed that, according to Oppenheim, "eventually the entire south lapsed into stagnation, abandoning the political initiative to the rulers of the northern cities," probably as a result of increasing salinity produced by continuous irrigation, and the city was abandoned in 600 BC.
Eridu, also transliterated as Eridug, could mean "mighty place" or "guidance place". In the Sumerian King List, Eridu is named as the city of the first kings. The king list continues:
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