Eridu: Temple City and Early Sumerian Settlement Sequence (c. 5400–2000 BCE)

1. Earliest Ubaid occupation at Eridu begins

   Jan 1, 5400 BCELabels: Tell Abu, Ubaid culture

   • Britannica
   • Ubaid

2. First Enki shrine established on virgin dune

   Jan 1, 5400 BCELabels: Enki shrine, Eridu

   • Eridu
   • Britannica

3. Eighteen-phase temple rebuilding sequence develops

   Jan 1, 5000 BCELabels: Eridu temple, Temple phases

   • Lexham
   • Eridu

4. Tripartite temple layout becomes standardized

   Jan 1, 4500 BCELabels: Tripartite temple, Eridu sanctuary

   • Eridu
   • Lexham

5. Eridu remains a major Ubaid temple-town

   Jan 1, 4000 BCELabels: Eridu, Ubaid town

   • Ubaid
   • Eridu

6. Uruk-period transformations reshape the city

   Jan 1, 3500 BCELabels: Uruk period, Eridu

   • Lexham
   • Eridu

7. Third-millennium canal links Eridu to Euphrates

   Jan 1, 2500 BCELabels: Canal link, Euphrates

   • Eridu
   • UNESCO

8. Ur III rulers construct Eridu’s ziggurat complex

   Jan 1, 2100 BCELabels: Ur III, Ziggurat

   • Eridu
   • Ziggurats

9. Eridu named first city in Sumerian King List

   Jan 1, 2000 BCELabels: Sumerian King, Eridu

   • SKL
   • Eridu

10. Environmental change contributes to regional urban decline

    Jan 1, 2000 BCELabels: Environmental change, Southern Mesopotamia

    • UNESCO
    • Eridu

11. Taylor excavates and identifies Eridu by inscriptions

    Jan 1, 1855Labels: John George, Abu Shahrain

    • Eridu
    • BritishMuseum

12. Thompson and Hall conduct early 20th-century seasons

    Apr 10, 1918Labels: R Campbell, H R

    • Eridu
    • Lexham

13. Safar and Lloyd’s excavations expose temple stratigraphy

    Jan 1, 1946Labels: Fuad Safar, Seton Lloyd

    • Eridu
    • Lexham

14. Eridu listed within UNESCO “Ahwar of Southern Iraq”

    Jul 17, 2016Labels: UNESCO Ahwar, Tell Eridu

    • UNESCO
    • HamburgU