About the project

Uruk/Warka, situated in modern-day Iraq, is one of the first cities in the world, and was populated almost without interruption for over 5,000 years – from the 4th millennium BCE to the 1st millennium CE. The pre-dynastic period was the time of the legendary king Gilgamesh, who is said to have build the 9km long city wall of Uruk and falls into the beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE.

In the areas UA1 and UA2, remains of a big wall enclosure, a couple of rooms as well as a pre-dynastic terrace were found. The terrace is situated exactly below the Eanna Ziqqurrat and might be it’s predecessor. We do not know who build these structures, but we are dealing with the earliest terrace in Uruk on which might have stood a temple and be therefore a very early version of a ziqqurrat.

Due to the difficult excavation circumstances, only parts of the terrace, a sophisticated canal system and several room complexes could be found. Nevertheless, we are offering a reconstruction here, that is based on the excavation results, which obviously show, that even in pre-dynastic times, Uruk was dominated by a monumental centre, enclosed in a walled area. Considering the later use of the same space, we might speculate a similar function for pre-dynastic times.

Literature

• Eichmann, R. 2007: Uruk. Architektur I. Von den Anfängen bis zur frühdynastischen Zeit (=AUWE 14), Textteil und Beilagen, Rahden.