Tell Abu Shahrain

E776668

Tell Abu Shahrain is an ancient mound in southern Iraq that marks the site of Eridu, one of the earliest known cities in Mesopotamian and Sumerian civilization.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Tell Abu Shahrain canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient mound
archaeological site
tell
alsoKnownAs Eridu
associatedWithDeity Enki
correspondsTo ancient city of Eridu
linked to: Eridu
country Iraq
culture Sumerian civilization
linked to: Sumer
earliestOccupationDate 7th millennium BCE (approximate)
excavatedBy Fuad Safar
Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities
Seton Lloyd
excavationEndDate 1949
excavationStartDate 1946
hasApproximateDiameter about 500 meters
hasApproximateDistanceTo about 12 km southwest of Ur
about 200 km northwest of Basra
hasArchaeologicalFind Ubaid pottery
linked to: Ubaid period

Ubaid-period temples
beads and small objects
clay figurines
cuneiform tablets (later levels)
mudbrick architecture
stamp seals
hasFeature multi-layered occupation mound
hasMajorTemple E-abzu temple of Enki
linked to: E-abzu temple
hasMaximumHeight about 7 meters
heritageStatus important early urban site of Mesopotamia
locatedIn Dhi Qar Governorate
Mesopotamia
Sumer
southern Iraq
mentionedIn Sumerian King List
Sumerian creation traditions
near Persian Gulf (ancient shoreline)
linked to: Persian Gulf
partOf Fertile Crescent
recognizedAs one of the earliest known cities in the world
one of the earliest urban centers in Mesopotamia
religiousSignificance important cult center of the god Enki
researchImportance key site for study of Ubaid culture
key site for study of origins of urbanism
threatenedBy environmental erosion
looting
timePeriod Early Dynastic period
Ubaid period
Uruk period
traditionalStatus first city before the flood in Sumerian tradition

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.