White Temple Of God Anu In Sacred Precinct Of Kullaba At Uruk
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - White Temple was located in the sacred precinct of the god Anu in the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk (now, Warka), Iraq, which was home to the legendary Gilgamesh.
This area had the name 'Kullaba' prior to merging with the Eanna District. The sacred precinct of Kullaba dates to the Eridu period when it was one of the most important cities of Sumer.
The White Temple - named in modern times for its pale mud-brick walls – stood on the so-called “Anu Ziggurat” (the oldest surviving ziggurat). The terrace was extended and raised over time at least ten times until it reached a height of about 12 m.
The beautiful shrine had its outer walls, covered with a thin, white, plaster facade, almost luminous in bright sunlight.
The exterior walls were decorated with niches and other decorations creating a 3D effect. The erection of the building was radiocarbon-dated between 3517 and 3358 BC.
The so-called elite buildings of Uruk were organized in two separate architectural groups the Eanna and Kullaba at a distance of about 300-400m from each other.
They represented Uruk’s two main temple areas – one dedicated the worship of the god Anu (the White Temple) and the other (the Eanna Precinct) to Inanna, the goddess of fertility, love, and war.
The White Temple was built on a trapezoidal terrace called the ziggurat with dimensions 50 x 46 x 10 meters and a height of 13 meters; the temple was accessed by means of a narrow staircase carved into the final terrace. The building had three entrances. One of the entrances was located in the long, southern wall of the temple.
Two others were opposite each other in the shorter walls and led directly to the nave with a statue of deity, a stepped sacrificial altar, which was surrounded on both sides by small rooms. In the central room, excavators found a lot of bones and the remains that suggested some rituals were held there; some artifacts discovered in the temple included 19 tablets of gypsum with cylinder seal impressions.
The whole structure definitely dominated the landscape of the city Uruk and its surrounding region as well. It towered even over the massive defensive walls of Uruk, which according to tradition was built on the orders of King Gilgamesh.
However, the temple itself, had a size of 17.5 to 22.3 meters and it was not big enough to accommodate larger groups of worshippers.
Most probably, only priests and the leading members of the community were allowed to enter the temple.
Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesMore From Ancient Pages
-
Ancient Mystery Of A Lost Polar Civilization That Vanished Without A Trace
Civilizations | Dec 27, 2020
-
Two Well-Preserved Shipwrecks Found By Swedish Maritime Divers In Baltic Sea
Archaeology | Jan 30, 2018
-
Patara Lighthouse Built By Emperor Nero In 64 AD Will Shine Again
Archaeology | Mar 5, 2020
-
Intriguing Phenomenon Sheds New Light On The Etruscans
Archaeology | Sep 25, 2021
-
Evidence Of A Hybrid Population Of Neanderthals And Modern Humans Discovered At La Cotte De St Brelade
Archaeology | Feb 9, 2021
-
Limestone Stela Of Liberation Discovered In Kom Ombo Temple In Aswan, Egypt
Archaeology | Oct 17, 2018
-
Reconstructed – Incredibly Well-Preserved 1,700-Year-Old Lendbreen Tunic – Norway’s Oldest Piece Of Clothing
Archaeology | Feb 21, 2018
-
Three 17th Century Shipwrecks Discovered In Central Gothenburg, Sweden
Archaeology | Oct 8, 2019
-
Evolution Mystery – Mini-Proteins In Human Organs Appeared ‘From Nowhere’
Human Beginnings | Feb 20, 2023
-
518-Million-Year-Old-Rocks Suggest Animal And Human Life May Have First Emerged In China – Scientists Say
News | Apr 19, 2022
-
Hird – Viking Warriors And Professional Body Guards Prepared To Die For Their Leader
Featured Stories | Mar 22, 2018
-
Smyrna Excavations Reveal Ashes From Santorini’s Minoan Volcanic Eruption
News | Jun 8, 2018
-
Erik The Red: Famous Viking Outlaw Who Colonized Greenland And Was Father Of Leif Erikson
Featured Stories | Jun 16, 2020
-
Humans Used Shells As Body Ornaments 30,000 Years Ago – Discovery In Malaga’s Cueva de Ardales Reveals
Archaeology | Jun 8, 2023
-
Enigma Of Nehushtan – The Biblical Copper Snake
Biblical Mysteries | Oct 31, 2018
-
1.3-Million-Year-Old Stone Age Axe Discovered In Morocco Pushes Back The Start Sate Of Acheulian Technology In North Africa
Archaeology | Jul 30, 2021
-
Magnificent ‘Sword Pyramid’ Lost By A Sutton Hoo-Era Lord Discovered In Norfolk
Archaeology | Aug 21, 2021
-
Unique Structure ‘Wooden Version Of Stonehenge’ – Identified In The Perdigões Complex, Portugal
Archaeology | Aug 6, 2020
-
Pre-Columbian Societies Declined 2,000 Years Ago Due To Sea Level Fall
Archaeology | Dec 22, 2021
-
Catastrophic Final Flooding Of Doggerland By The Storegga Tsunami – New Study Results
Archaeology | Dec 2, 2020