The World's Oldest Bridge, Buried by the Sands of Sumer (8 photos)

Halfway between Baghdad and Basra, hidden in the southern sands of Iraq, lies the ancestral home of cities – the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu. This five-thousand-year-old metropolis, dedicated to the warlike god Ningirsu, was the heart of the kingdom of Lagash.





It was here that the Sumerian civilization first revealed itself to the world in the form of thousands of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform.



The god Ningirsu. Bas-relief fragment from Tello (Lagash)

More than half a century of excavations at this stunning monument has given the world masterpieces of art and architecture. But the greatest discovery was a brick bridge, over four thousand years old. It is the oldest bridge ever found on our planet.





Tablet with cuneiform

Alas, Girsu's fate was dramatic. The first French archaeologists in 1877, driven more by passion than by science, lacked modern methods.



Aerial view of the bridge in the ancient city of Girsu (modern-day Tello)

They neglected the preservation of the buildings, and looters followed suit. More than thirty-five thousand cuneiform tablets were looted and sold, while scholars recovered only four thousand.



The bridge itself was discovered in the 1920s. For a long time, it was considered a temple, a dam, and a sluice gate, and only recently did it acquire its true name and purpose.



Reconstruction

For a century, this unique structure remained open to the elements, exposed to wind and sun, without the slightest attempt by humans to preserve its original appearance.



Today, Girsu, known in Arabic as Tello, has become a living school. The British Museum, with support from the British government, is training Iraqi archaeologists here in the intricacies of heritage conservation and fieldwork. And as part of this program, the bricks of the world's oldest bridge, which stood for four millennia, will finally have a chance to be saved and given a new life.