Roots of Sumer · 02 / 12

Uruk

Warka · Muthanna

World Heritage · UNESCO 2016

The Mask of Warka (about 3000 BCE), Iraq Museum. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Why it matters

Uruk matters because it is one of the earliest large cities in human history, and the earliest known writing appeared there around 3300–3200 BCE. Writing began as a way to record accounts and stores, and later became a way to keep literature, religion and law. Uruk is also the city of Gilgamesh, hero of Mesopotamia's best-known epic, and its wall runs for about nine kilometres. Rare works of art came from it, such as the Mask of Warka and the Warka Vase, both kept in the Iraq Museum. The city lived for thousands of years, German archaeologists have worked there for over a century, and it is part of the Ahwar World Heritage site.

One of the first great cities in human history and the city of the legendary king Gilgamesh. The earliest known writing appeared here, making Uruk the birthplace of record-keeping.

Its wall runs for about nine kilometres, and German archaeologists have worked here for over a century. The Mask of Warka, one of the earliest known sculptures of a human face, came from here and is now in the Iraq Museum.

Notable factThe ziggurat of Inanna at Uruk was built in the reign of Ur-Nammu, about 2110 BCE.

Visitor guide

67km from Nasiriyah

52km from Shatra

Approximate straight-line distance; the road is longer.

Best time: Roughly November to March. Summers in the south are extremely hot, often above 45°C, so avoid midday visits in summer.

Practical tips:

Arrange your visit in advance with the Muthanna Antiquities Inspectorate; archaeological sites are protected and guarded.
Bring plenty of water, a hat and sun protection; most sites have no shade or services.
Do not walk on exposed walls or pick up any sherd or stone; Iraq's Antiquities and Heritage Law No. 55 of 2002 forbids it.

Getting there

In the Muthanna desert, about 30 km east of Samawah. The site is vast and open; it is best visited in winter, with a guide from the Muthanna Antiquities Inspectorate.

Photos of the site

The mound of the White Temple and the Ziggurat of Anu at Uruk — The Ziggurat of Anu and the White Temple at Uruk. Photo: tobeytravels, licence CC BY-SA 2.0, source.

Mosaic of coloured clay cones from the Eanna temple — Clay-cone mosaic from the facade of the temple of Inanna (Eanna) at Uruk, about 3200 BCE (نحو 3200 ق.م). Photo: Dosseman, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Columns decorated with coloured clay cones from Uruk — Columns of the Eanna precinct covered in clay cones, from Uruk (3600–3200 ق.م). Photo: Neoclassicism Enthusiast, licence CC0, source.

The top register of the Warka Vase, showing Inanna and the priest — Detail of the top register of the Warka Vase: offerings presented to Inanna (نحو 3200 ق.م). Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

An old black-and-white photograph of the Ziggurat of Uruk — The Ziggurat of Uruk (Warka) in a Library of Congress photograph (نحو 1932). Photo: Matson Collection (Library of Congress), licence Public domain, source.

Sources

Information last reviewed: November 2026. Dates are approximate.