Summary: Ruins of a lost Sumerian palace containing hundreds of cuneiform tablets dating back 4,500 years, have recently been found in the ancient city of Girsu in modern-day Iraq.
And he said to [Abraham], “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” – Genesis 15:7 (ESV)
Cradle of Civilization
A team of Iraqi and British archaeologists recently discovered the ruins of a lost palace belonging to Sumerian kings from the ancient city of Girsu, now modern day Tello, Iraq. The dig site, called Tablet Hill, was described as “the cradle of civilization” and “one of the most fascinating sites I have ever visited,” by British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer during a press conference at the Iraq embassy in London in February. This important heritage site is believed to hold keys to new information about one of the earliest known civilizations.
Sumerians Connection with the Bible
There is a strong historical connection between the Bible and the Sumerians. They were the builders of the city-state of Ur, a major trading hub by the Persian Gulf and possibly the original home of the first Hebrew patriarch, Abraham. (The other proposed location for Abraham’s birthplace is Urfa in Turkey.)
The Sumerians farmed the fertile land by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, two of four rivers mentioned in the Bible that flowed from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:14). Today, these rivers still have a common source, in the mountains of Turkey, from which they flow through modern day Syria and Iraq.
Another connection is found in Ezekiel 8:14, where the prophet sees women of Israel weeping for the Sumerian god Tammuz (Dumuzi) during a drought. But the book of Genesis is where the bulk of Sumerian parallels can be found, such as the creation story, the fall of man and numerous others. The clearest parallel comes from the Flood story.
It’s important for Bible believers to know about Sumer and its biblical connections so that when these topics come up, Christians can “give an answer” and won’t be swayed by skeptics who may claim that the Sumer stories came before the Bible (1 Peter 3:15).
Sumerian Palace, Temple and Tablets
The archaeological site discovered at Girsu, a city of ancient Sumer, is located about 16 miles northwest of Lagash. The ruins date back 4,500 years ago, according to a statement issued by the British Museum.
Within the ancient city, archeologists unearthed a grand palace, which they named the Lord Palace of the Kings, that was found to contain more than 200 clay tablets with administrative records written on them in cuneiform. The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad now holds the tablets and also the first mud brick walls of the palace that were discovered during the dig.
Additionally, the team found a temple which was the main sanctuary of Ninutta, the Sumerian god of war, hunting and agriculture. Using aerial photographs taken by drones, the boundaries of the palace and the temple were able to be determined.
Dr. Sebastien Rey’s Perseverance
The excavation project was a long time in coming and required a lot of preparation, but Girsu project leader, Dr. Sebastien Rey said he finally feels vindicated because early on in this endeavor he was accused of wasting time and money.
“I remember when I started in 2016 no one believed me,” he explained. “I went to international conferences and everyone basically told me, ‘Oh no, you’re making it up, you’re wasting your time, you’re wasting British Museum UK government funding.’ That’s what they were telling me.”
“I had other supporters and people who believed in this project and so we just persevered. Of course, there was the research element and also the training, even if we had not discovered the temple it still would have been an amazing experience but the cherry on the cake was the temple,” explained Rey.
So far the project has trained more than 70 Iraqis, who have conducted eight seasons of fieldwork at Girsu. The new discoveries were made by archeologists at the end of 2022 as part of a research project carried out jointly by the British Museum, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, and the Iraqi authorities.
Protection of Heritage Sites
Although Girsu is a notable heritage site, it has not been well studied. The site was first discovered by French archaeologists at the end of the 19th century, and because of it a detailed study of the Sumerian civilization, language and writing was started. But excavation halted due to the conflicts in Iraq over the past thirty years, giving opportunity for thieves to loot many of its antiquities.
Through site management and field training of archeology students and conservators in Iraq, the Girsu project, according to a press statement, specifically “addresses the damage caused by early excavations and modern looting.” An essential goal of the project is to protect these ancient sites in Iraq and Syria.
Brick Structure and Bridge
Another fascinating find at Girsu was a brick structure that had first been excavated in the 1920s by French archaeologists. It measured 130 feet long by 33 feet wide, with 11-foot-high walls shaped like a pair of parenthesis. The French archeologists called it an “enigmatic construction,” unsure of its purpose.
With new satellite imagery and excavation of the landscape around the structure, Rey identified traces of an ancient canal some 100 feet wide that had once passed through the structure. Rey concluded that the structure had served as a bottleneck to reduce the canal’s width to around 12 feet, making it narrow enough to be crossed with the planks of a bridge.
The bridge stands about a third of a mile to the east of Sumerian King Gudea’s great temple and would have been the main entrance to Girsu’s sacred area, crossed by pilgrims who traveled to the city for religious festivals held several times each year.
“That’s why the bridge was so monumental,” Rey explained. “It had the same significance as the temple, a city gate or a city wall. It was built by a king and was meant to be visible in the landscape.”
The bridge’s foundation was built of fired bricks coated with bitumen to make it sturdy and watertight. On 15 of these bricks, Rey’s team discovered inscriptions dedicating the structure to the god Ningirsu and naming King Gudea’s son and successor, Ur-Ningirsu (r. ca. 2110 BC), as ruler of Girsu. The inscriptions all face downward to prevent them from being stepped on.
Sumerian Accomplishments
The inhabitants of Sumer were responsible for some of the earliest cities and many technological advancements, including mathematics, measurements of time and irrigation methods. They made significant improvements on inventions, such as the wheel and the plough, and were one of the first civilizations to brew beer which was considered by ancient people to be a key to health.
The Sumerians are credited with creating one of the first forms of writing called cuneiform, made of a series of wedge-shaped marks carved into clay with a stylus. Their writings include poems, literature, hymns and prayers. One of the earliest known law codes, the Code of Ur-Nammu, was written by the Sumerians sometime between 2100–2050 BC.
The famous Epic Story of Gilgamesh was written in cuneiform by the Sumerians and took archeologists a long time to translate. It tells the story of a heroic Sumerian king and contains a fascinating tale of a great flood with similarities to Noah’s flood account found in the book of Genesis.
The similarities can be explained by recognizing the flood as a real historical event that was subsequently remembered in stories by many cultures, including Sumeria. Still, there are major differences. The Epic has an absurd square shaped ark that would not have been able to float during a flood, whereas Noah’s ark has been demonstrated to have been incredibly sea-worthy. There are many other examples showing that the Genesis account is the original, while the Sumerian story is a distortion.
Collaboration Between Countries
“The collaboration between the British Museum, state board of antiquities and heritage of Iraq, and the Getty represents a vital new way of building cooperative cultural heritage projects internationally,” said Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum.
“We are delighted to celebrate the recent discoveries that are the result of this collaboration, and continue the British Museum’s long-term commitment to the protection of the cultural heritage of Iraq, the support of innovative research, and the training of the next generation of Iraqi archaeologists at Girsu.”
“The British archaeological excavations in Iraq will further unveil significant ancient eras of Mesopotamia, as it is a true testimony to the strong ties and joint cooperation between two countries,” said Iraq’s culture minister, Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani.
Conclusion
“While our knowledge of the Sumerian world remains limited today, the work at Girsu and the discovery of the lost palace and temple hold enormous potential for our understanding of this important civilization, shedding light on the past and informing the future,” said Fischer.
As Bible believers we can be excited for more discoveries that further point us to the truth and historical validity of God’s Word!
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: The ruins of a palace and a temple belonging to Sumerian kings in the southern Iraqi governorate of Dhi Qar. (credit: Tello-Girsu Project, Iraq Scheme, British Museum)
 (schoyencollection.com){kind=link}