Uruk (Warka)
Warka · Unug · Erech · Tall al Warka
Neolithic to Sassanian (c.5000 BCE–632 CE; Uruk period city 4000–3100 BCE)·Sumerian / Babylonian / Persian·🇮🇶 Al-Muthanna Governorate, Iraq
About
About Uruk (Warka)
Type site for Uruk period and first true city (c.4000–3100 BCE), Uruk at peak 2900 BCE housed 50,000–80,000 inside 9.5 km city wall built by Gilgamesh (per Epic). Eanna precinct with Stone Temple and Warka Vase; Anu ziggurat; world's earliest writing (proto-cuneiform) and cylinder seals excavated here. Lena's German excavations since 1912. Part of Ahwar WHS.
Why it mattersFirst city and invention of writing; Gilgamesh's wall
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Population estimate reliability: 50,000–80,000 inside walls?
- 02Function of stone-cone mosaics – decoration or symbolism
Theories
- 01Uruk Expansion as colonial network establishing Enmerkar-type trade (Algaze)
- 02Writing invented in Eanna for temple accounting ~3400 BCE (Nissen)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Obeid settlement 5000 BCE; walled metropolis c.3500 BCE; wall attributed Gilgamesh c.2700 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic to Sassanian (c.5000 BCE–632 CE; Uruk period city 4000–3100 BCE)
- Culture
- Sumerian / Babylonian / Persian
- Purpose
- First urban center; temple economy and invention of writing and administration
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Obeid settlement 5000 BCE; walled metropolis c.3500 BCE; wall attributed Gilgamesh c.2700 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1145 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
31.3242° N · 45.6372° E · 20 m · 3 mapped features
Eanna Precinct (Temple of Inanna)
temple complexTemple precinct with Stone Temple, Limestone Temple and Warka Vase findspot
31.3205° N · 45.6365° EAnu Ziggurat and White Temple
zigguratTerraced Anu sanctuary with White Temple (c.3200 BCE) on summit
31.3255° N · 45.6390° ECity Wall of Uruk
wall9.5 km circuit traditionally built by Gilgamesh, 5.5 m thick
31.3220° N · 45.6380° E