A thick band of clay and sand, believed to be the remains of a massive flood, has been discovered beneath ancient ruins in Iraq, reopening a familiar question in archaeology: could earlier human ...

The story of how the first cities rose from southern Mesopotamia has long fascinated scientists and historians. Many explanations point to fertile soil, farming, and trade networks as the engines of ...

Recent events in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey recall ancient and equally dramatic events in Babylon and Mesopotamia, whose lands these countries now occupy. A magnificent storyteller and a careful historian ...

A new interdisciplinary study shows that the rise of the first urban civilization was not solely a product of human ingenuity, but a complex response to coastal dynamics and the predictable rhythms of ...

About 4,500 years ago, an image of the Sumerian storm god Ningirsu was engraved on a silver vessel now on view in the Getty Villa Museum exhibition “Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins.” ...

To reopen Wednesday after a yearlong closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Getty Villa has at last unveiled “Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins.” The show, originally scheduled to open in March 2020 ...