Tello/Girsu: first results of the autumn 2019 archaeological season

Abstract

• This article’s aim is to present the preliminary results of the British Museum archaeological fieldwork in Tello (ancient Girsu) that took place in the autumn of 2019. Since the launch of the Iraq Scheme in 2016, we have carried out five seasons of excavations at the site, focusing mainly on one of its most important archaeological mounds, Tell A, also known as the Mound of the Palace since the French pioneering exploration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this article we also give an account of our previous excavation results at this site which led to the discovery of the Lagaš II temple complex dedicated to the patron god Ningirsu reconstructed by the ruler Gudea. In 2019, in another area of the Sacred Precinct of Girsu, we have uncovered an Early Dynastic temple bakery. At the Bridge site, we have continued our fieldwork of recording and studying this unique monument of Sumerian engineering. New excavations around the bridge have also generated unexcepted and fascinating results. Finally, a geoarchaeological survey of the ancient channels around Girsu was conducted.