Key Facts about Girsu

About Girsu:

• Girsu was a city of the Sumer civilization.
• It was discovered during the 19th century, with the first excavations being conducted in the 1880s by the French archaeologist, Ernest de Sarzec.
• It was significant in that it first revealed to the world the existence of the Sumerian civilization, as well as bringing to light some of the most vital monuments of Mesopotamian art and architecture.
• Key Facts about the Sumer Civilization:
  • It is one of the earliest known civilizations that flourished between c. 4100-1750 BCE in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq.
  • Sumer was never a cohesive political entity, however, but a region of city-states, each with its own king.
  • The Sumerians were responsible for many technological advancements, including measurements of time as well as writing.
  • They essentially “invented” time by dividing day and night into 12-hour periods, hours into 60 minutes, and minutes into 60 seconds. 
  • They built the first known cities as well as creating the first known code of law. According to archaeological evidence, they built about a dozen city-states in the fourth millennium BC.
  • They advanced the craft of writing, literature, hymns and prayers. The epic of Gilgamesh, considered to be the world’s oldest surviving piece of literature, derives from five Sumerian poems.
  • They also perfected several existing forms of technology, including the wheel, the plough, and mathematics.
  • They were also notably one of the first civilizations to brew beer, which was seen by the ancient people as a key to a healthy heart and liver.