Top image: Eridu, southwest of Nasiriyah, Iraq, the world's oldest city. The ziggurat seen here may be the oldest temple on earth.

In the arid desert of southern Iraq, the remains of one of the world’s oldest cities can be found. This is Eridu, created by the gods as the starting point of civilization in Sumerian mythology. For over two thousand years, this incredibly ancient site (the city was founded in 5,400 BC) lay untouched, its significance long forgotten.

That finally began to change in 1854, when British official John George Taylor, working for the East India Company and serving as vice-consul at Basra, was dispatched by the British consul general in Baghdad to excavate a remote site known as Tell Abu Shahrain.

After beginning his work, Taylor soon encountered a series of mounds or tells composed of ancient debris, which from his perspective seemed highly disappointing. In his 1855 report, Taylor remarked, “My visit this year to Abu Shahrein [sic] has been unproductive of any very important results,” questioning if it had even been worthwhile to record his findings.

What this judgment showed is that at least at this point, he did not possess the sensibilities of an archaeologist. He didn’t uncover the remains of any spectacular temples or striking royal sculptures, but rather walls, platforms, drainage systems, and fragments of limestone columns decorated with mosaic cones, all of which would have generated delight in a trained archaeologist who understood the significance of such ruins. A statue of a black granite lion lying on the surface of the desert did capture his attention, but even this did little to convince him the site merited a return.

In fact, Taylor’s dismissal masked a stunning and exciting truth. These humble remains actually belonged to Eridu, a city central to the dawn of civilization.

The Sacred City Before the Flood

Eridu was a cornerstone of Sumerian culture, the earliest known civilization, which flourished in Mesopotamia from around the fourth to the second millennium BC. The city was featured prominently in the Sumerian King List, a document inscribed in cuneiform around the end of the third millennium BC. The text, blending myth and history, records a time before a great flood—perhaps inspired by a real event or the Genesis narrative—swept across the land. “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu ... In five cities, eight kings ... Then the flood swept over,” the list reads.

Basalt statue of a standing lion from Eridu, southern Iraq, from mid-3rd millennium BC.

As the first city in this chronology, Eridu was of deep symbolic importance. It was home to the largest known temple to Enki, the Sumerian god of water and wisdom, who played a key role in Mesopotamian religion. Pilgrims from across the region traveled to Eridu to worship at his shrine, reflecting the city’s sacred identity.

Although Taylor’s initial findings sparked only modest academic interest, they weren’t completely overlooked. In 1918, toward the close of World War I, the British Museum sent Assyriologist Reginald Campbell Thompson to survey the area. For a month he examined the site, relying on what was essentially slave labor provided by Ottoman prisoners of war. A year later, Egyptologist Harry R.H. Hall arrived to investigate monumental architecture. However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that Eridu finally got the attention it deserved, allowing it to begin revealing its secrets in earnest.

Terracotta figurine, a primitive representation of a woman, found in Eridu, Iraq, from 4000-3500 BC.

Layers Beneath the Ziggurat

Iraq gained independence in 1932, and the country’s leaders recognized the value of archaeology in fostering a sense of national identity. Following World War II, the Iraqi Department of Antiquities made the wise decision to prioritize Eridu for excavation.

In 1946, Iraqi archaeologist Fuad Safar, assisted by British archaeologist Seton Lloyd, began the first major dig at Tell Abu Shahrain. Having collaborated before at Tell Uqair, the pair turned their attention to Mound 1, an 82-foot-high tell spanning nearly 1,900 by 1,770 feet. Earlier accounts suggested it might be covering the ancient city’s most important structures.

As excavations commenced, Safar and Lloyd soon realized they were uncovering the ruins of an unfinished ziggurat—an immense stepped pyramid—that was eventually dated to the third dynasty of Ur in the late third millennium BC. But the real breakthrough came as they dug below the ziggurat. Beneath it were multiple earlier levels of occupation.

In total, the stunned archaeologists unearthed 18 distinct layers and the remains of six temples. Among the oldest layers were the ruins of the temple of Enki, originally built during the Ubaid period (5300–3800 BC), predating the rise of the Sumerians. These temples were reconstructed many times over two millennia, each new building project further cementing the reputation of Eridu as a spiritual center.

Model of a large temple found at Eridu, representing an elaboration of an earlier, smaller temple.

A close analysis showed that from around the mid-fourth millennium BC on, the temples grew in size and complexity, ultimately dwarfing temples constructed elsewhere in the same general time period. This architectural evolution signaled a broader transformation: a move from household-based worship to communal, institutional religion. Simultaneously, social hierarchies became more pronounced, reflecting the increasing sophistication of Sumerian society. The temple reconstructions ceased around 3200 BC, though centuries later, during the Ur III period, the ziggurat was built atop these sacred foundations, functioning as their capstone.

Long Gone, but Forgotten No More

Though Eridu’s political importance waned over time, its spiritual legacy endured. Archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting the city remained a pilgrimage destination long after its peak (it ceased functioning as a recognizable city around 600 BC, meaning it preserved its urban identity for nearly five millennia).

Excavations at nearby mounds expanded knowledge of how the city’s history had unfolded. Mound 2 contained what appeared to be a palace complex from the early third millennium BC, while Mounds 3, 4, and 5 yielded pottery from the second and first centuries BC. These later finds lacked residential remains, suggesting a transient population who likely came as pilgrims to a site that was still recognized as sacred.

Image of the ancient port of Eridu.

The full excavation report from Safar and Lloyd wasn’t published until 1981. Despite the long delay and the region’s political instability, Eridu continues to attract international scholarly attention. Teams from Italy and France have expressed interest in resuming exploration of the site, hopeful that more revelations about the world’s first city and its Sumerian occupants remain hidden beneath the sands.

From its mythic origins as the cradle of kingship to its monumental temples raised layer by layer over millennia, Eridu offers a rare, tangible connection to humanity’s earliest efforts at organized urban life, religion, and governance. The city may have been forgotten for centuries, but it is now recognized as one of the most important sites of the ancient world’s first great civilization.