Year Three

The third year of excavations focused on the Akkadian ruins. In addition to more buildings and houses, excavators discovered a large complex in which a local ruler had resided, which they designated as a palace. A temple dedicated to the god Abu was also discovered. This temple and the artifacts within it have helped to shed light on the religious practices of the time. It appears that the people worshiped a central deity of fertility and vegetation. Iconography indicates Abu may have been associated with Tammuz and/or Ninurta (Frankfort, Iraq Excavations of the Oriental Institute, 47–50). Other images tell the story of a divine hero who fights large serpents. In one story, the hero fights and defeats a seven-headed serpent. The image is very similar to the legend of Heracles and the hydra, lending evidence to the theory for a Mesopotamian background to the Greek myth (Frankfort, Iraq Excavations of the Oriental Institute, 53–55).