The underlying substance is Sumerian bitumen: a naturally occurring petroleum material (often called an asphalt-like “black goo”) long associated with waterproofing and adhesion, and even with ...

Built around 2100 BCE, the Great Ziggurat of Ur stood at the heart of one of the world’s earliest cities. Dedicated to the moon god Nanna, the monument reflects the political power, religious devotion ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An eighth-century B.C.

8,000-year-old pottery shards reveal ancient Mesopotamians understood maths before numbers invented - Decoration of pottery and seals in Halafian culture reflects high level of mathematical awareness, ...

New research shows that the rise of Sumer was deeply tied to the tidal and sedimentary dynamics of ancient Mesopotamia. Early communities harnessed predictable tides for irrigation, but when deltas ...

After the Elamites shattered Ur, Mesopotamia splintered into rival kingdoms, ambitious warlords, and fragile survivor states fighting over the ruins of Sumer. This chapter follows Shamshi-Adad’s ...