Uruk, modern Warka, was among the world's first true cities — a vast walled center that at its height may have held tens of thousands of people, the setting of the Gilgamesh epic and a birthplace of writing itself, where some of the earliest cuneiform tablets were found. Rediscovered by William Loftus in 1849 and excavated on a huge scale by German expeditions from the early 1900s onward, its ruins include monumental temple platforms such as the Anu ziggurat and the remains of the White Temple. As a documented cornerstone of early civilization, Uruk needs no biblical footnote. Scripture mentions it only once, as 'Erech' in the Table of Nations' list of cities founded in Shinar. That single reference is the whole of the connection, and it should be stated plainly as such.
- Where it is
- Muthanna Province, southern Iraq
- Scripture
- Genesis 10:10