Girsu

Background

Coordinates: 31°33′43.3″N 46°10′39.3″E Girsu (Sumerian Ĝirsu;[1] cuneiform ĝir2-suki 𒄈𒋢𒆠) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.Contents [hide]1History2Archaeology3See also4Notes5Further reading6External linksHistory[edit]Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but significant levels of activity began in the Early Dynastic period (2900-2335 BC). At the time of Gudea, during the Second Dynasty of Lagash, Girsu became the capital of the Lagash kingdom and continued to be its religious center after political power had shifted to city of Lagash.[2] During the Ur III period, Girsu was a major administrative center for the empire. After the fall of Ur, Girsu declined in importance, but remained inhabited until approximately 200 BC.Archaeology[edit]An account of barley rations issued monthly to adults and children written in Cuneiform on clay tablet, written in year 4 of King Urukagina (circa 2350 BC). From Girsu, Iraq. British Museum, London.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, followed by his successor Gaston Cros from 1903–1909.[3][4] Excavations continued under Abbé Henri de Genouillac in 1929–1931 and under André Parrot in 1931–1933.[5][6][7] 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.[8]See also[edit] Media related to Girsu at Wikimedia CommonsNingirsuStatues of GudeaShort chronology timelineCities of the ancient Near EastNotes[edit]Jump up ^ Because of the initial nasal velar ŋ, the transcription of Ĝirsu is sometimes spelled as Ngirsu (also: G̃irsu, Girsu, Jirsu).Jump up ^ Dietz Otto Edzard, Gudea and His Dynasty. University of Toronto Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8020-4187-6Jump up ^ Découvertes en Chaldée, E. de Sarzec, Paris, Leroux, 1884–1893Jump up ^ Nouvelles fouilles de Tello, Gaston Cros, Paris, 1910Jump up ^ Fouilles de Telloh I: Epoques presargoniques, Abbé Henri de Genouillac, Paris, 1934Jump up ^ Fouilles de Telloh II: Epoques d'Ur III Dynastie et de Larsa, Abbé Henri de Genouillac, Paris, 1936Jump up ^ A. Parrot, Tello: vingt campagnes de fouilles 1877–1933, Paris, A. Michel ,1948Jump up ^ Telloh Tablets at Haverford LibraryFurther reading[edit]Harriet Crawford, The Construction Inférieure at Tello. A Reassessment, Iraq, vol. 49, pp. 71–76, 1987Benjamin R. Foster, The Sargonic Victory Stele from Telloh, Iraq, Vol. 47, pp. 15–30, 1985Claudia E. Suter, A Shulgi Statuette from Tello, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 43/45, pp. 63–70, (1991–1993)External links[edit]Fragment of a stone plaque depicting Enannatum found in Tello (Girsu), from the collection of the British Museum, on the site of Google Cultural InstituteImages of Girsu - Oriental Institute of the University of ChicagoStele of the Vultures at the Louvre