Where is the oldest bridge in the world

Today in Iraq you can find one of the oldest cities in the world. This is Girsu. It was built by representatives of the Sumerian civilization in the 3rd millennium BC. Stretched between the Tigris and the Euphrates, it was part of the union of the three cities of the ancient world that were connected by a water artery: Lagash and Nina-Sirara.

The city was discovered by French archaeologists in 1877. It was one of the ancient Sumerian cities that historians managed to discover. But archaeologists believe that he was found "too early." The fact is that modern methods of archeology have not yet been developed that allow treating ancient artifacts more carefully.

Nevertheless, for the discovery of this monument, humanity should be grateful to the French vice consul in Basra, Ernest de Sarzek, he was the head of the excavations from 1877 to 1900, and his successor Gaston Kros, who worked from 1903 to 1909.

Further excavations were continued by the abbot Henri de Genouillac from 1919 to 1931 and Andre Parro.

Unfortunately, not only history buffs, but also crowds of adventurers, treasure lovers who wished to cash in on the finds, learned about the discovery of the ancient Sumerian city. They rushed into the region and stole a large number of tablets and artifacts. Then they were sold to collectors. It is estimated that around 40,000 clay tablets surfaced on the black market were stolen. For comparison, French archaeologists dug up only 4,000 tablets. They preserved invaluable information about the political, economic and everyday life of Sumer, and trade issues were resolved.

In addition to this, however, other cultural monuments of ancient society were found. One of them is a unique bridge built of burnt bricks. This bridge is more than 4000 years old. He was found in the 1920s, then for a long time they could not figure out what it was. Either the remains of the temple, or the dam. Only much later, researchers came to the conclusion about the purpose of the structure.

Recent studies using photographs from the 1930s, as well as declassified satellite images from the 1960s, along with new data collected at the local sites, confirmed that it was a bridge over an ancient waterway. Today it is one of the oldest in the world. After excavations carried out almost 90 years ago, the bridge remained open, archaeologists say, was not preserved and was exposed to various climatic conditions.

Today, archaeological work in the region is resumed. They are led by specialists from the American School of Oriental Studies, while training Iranian specialists. In addition, a bas-relief was discovered in Girsu, showing the ruler of Lagash Ur-Nanshe and Stela of the Kites. It was named so because it depicted the heads of enemies carried away by starving birds.