Drone Footage Reveals Lost Mesopotamian City Built on Marsh Islands

Using remote sensing data technologies at the site of one of the oldest urban centers in world history, scientists have identified a vast Mesopotamian settlement called Lagash. Once upon a time, Lagash consisted of four marsh islands interconnected by waterways. A flourishing watery lifestyle existed almost 5,000 years ago in this ancient wetland area located between the Drone-based and other technology. One of the participants of the project was Emily Hammer, an anthropological archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania. Hammer employed a specially equipped drone that helped provide invaluable insight into Lagash, which formed the core of one of the world's earliest states. The results of her work have now been published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. After initial remote sensing data gathered from the ground level, a drone was used to photograph the area around Lagash over six weeks in 2019. It took high-resolution UAV photographs of the site's surface that aided Hammer's research. She was also able to obtain magnetic radiometry data. The drone was aided by the heavy rains that had just ended around that time, leading to heavy salt absorption and salt moisture. These made detection of buildings, walls, streets, and waterways that were buried near ground level much easier as they surveyed the ancient Mesopotamian city of wetland islands, raised mounds, surrounding marshes. Lagash was likely founded between 4,000, 900, and 4,600 years ago and is today known as Tell al-Haiba. Excavated more than 40 years ago for the first time, it was learned that this site was abandoned around 3,600 years ago. Previous analysis by other anthropologists, historians, and scientists indicate that Lagash was built on raised mounds in the marshes and possibly consisted of 33 small marsh islands. There could have been multiple evolving ways for Lagash to be a city of marsh islands as human occupation and environmental change reshaped the landscape, Hammer says. Critically, Hammer's study has helped challenge a traditional notion that has presented Mesopotamian cities as nuclear and compact settlements located within an irrigated agricultural hinterland. These settlements have been understood to have expanded from a singular monumental temple complex. Nevertheless, Lagash is different, and the curious city of wetland islands has been found to be unlike this presupposed model. Early dynastic Lagash, dating back to around 2900 to 2350 before Christ, was made up of distinctly separate sectors, each with multiple walls or moat-like watercourses surrounding them, interspersed by open spaces. In fact, Lagash is characterized by dense architecture spread out over 300 hectares, approximately. Evidence also points to marshy and watery local environmental factors. This led Hammer to conclude that the city sectors originated as marsh islands. Drome photographs also point to harbors that potentially connected city sectors by boat travel. The remains of potential foot bridges also emerged, though only excavations can shed further light on the subject, according to a report on Science News.