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An aerial photo showing the mudbrick remains of a Sumerian temple in what is now Iraq.  (Image credit: British Museum)

Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed the remains of a 4,500-year-old Sumerian temple dedicated to Ningirsu, the Mesopotamian god of springtime thunder, the British Museum has reported. 

The long-lost temple was built out of mud brick and was the spectacular centerpiece of the ancient city of Girsu, now an archaeological site known as Tello.

“At the heart of the city of Girsu, we have discovered — and are still currently excavating — one of the most important sacred spaces of all ancient Mesopotamia: a temple dedicated to the chief god of Girsu,” Sebastien Rey (opens in new tab) , a curator of ancient Mesopotamia and lead archaeologist at the British Museum in London, said in a presentation (opens in new tab) of the findings.

Girsu was a bustling cultural center at the heart of Mesopotamia — a broad area between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris including Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, part of western Iran and Kuwait, and home to some of the first civilizations. The Sumerians were possibly the oldest civilization in the world and the first to establish religion and a code of law.

French archaeologist Ernest de Sarzec first discovered the remains of Girsu in 1877 and removed all the artifacts he could find, including a 4,000-year-old statue of the Sumerian king Gudea, who ruled the city at the end of the third millennium B.C. As a result, many people thought that there was nothing left to excavate. Multiple periods of conflict have also prevented scientists from accessing the site in the Dhi Qar province of southern Iraq. Rey and his team, however, could not shake the idea that Girsu had more secrets to reveal.

Related: Ancient Egyptian temple to the sun cult uncovered near Cairo 

“After the Second World War and years of conflict that followed later in Iraq, the site of Girsu fell into semi-oblivion,” Rey said. “It is not fanciful to say today that Girsu is probably one of the most important heritage sites in the world that very few people know about.”

Now, more than a century after archaeologists last explored the remarkable site, Rey’s team has unearthed the vast temple. Archaeologists used remote sensing techniques to reveal features of the site buried under sand and other deposits. They also created digital elevation models to understand how the landscape has changed since the excavations of the 19th century. 

A digital reconstruction showing how the Sumerian temple at Girsu may have looked 4,500 years ago.  (Image credit: British Museum)

“After five seasons of excavations at the temple site, we were able to uncover a large area of this ancient sanctuary, including the inner sanctum, a ceremonial square, an interior wall which featured a gate, and we were also able to identify and excavate part of the inclosure wall of the religious complex, including a monumental gate,” Rey said.

The temple, referred to in ancient inscriptions as Enninu or the “White Thunderbird,” housed the sacred statue of the hero thunder god Ningirsu, one of the most important gods of the Sumerian pantheon. The Sumerians believed that Ningirsu held power over spring thunder, rainstorms and floods, as well as commanding the plow and plowing of the land, according to the British Museum (opens in new tab) . RELATED STORIES— Ancient temple dedicated to Zeus unearthed in Egypt

— See photos of stunningly preserved 52-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus from ancient Egypt

— This may be one of the oldest Buddhist temples ever discovered 

Remarkably, the newly unearthed walls surrounding the sacred site perfectly match a map carved into the statue of king Gudea found during the early excavations. 

“Enninu, the White Thunderbird, is the oldest temple for which we have detailed inscriptions — an archaic plan carved into the statue of the king,” Rey said. “We were able to test our theory by opening a series of excavation soundings and identifying, for example, the foundations of a temple gate exactly where we predicted the temple gate would be, according to the 4,000-year-old plan.”

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Business

Chancellor’s Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape – saying post-financial crash rules went ‘too far’

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Chancellor's Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape - saying post-financial crash rules went 'too far'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has criticised post-financial crash regulation, saying it has “gone too far” – setting a course for cutting red tape in her first speech to Britain’s most important gathering of financiers and business leaders.

Increased rules on lenders that followed the 2008 crisis have had “unintended consequences”, Ms Reeves will say in her Mansion House address to industry and the City of London’s lord mayor.

“The UK has been regulating for risk, but not regulating for growth,” she will say.

It cannot be taken for granted that the UK will remain a global financial centre, she is expected to add.

Money blog: Britain’s most affordable town revealed

It’s anticipated Ms Reeves will on Thursday announce “growth-focused remits” for financial regulators and next year publish the first strategy for financial services growth and competitiveness.

Rachel Reeves
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Rachel Reeves


Bank governor to point out ‘consequences’ of Brexit

Also at the Mansion House dinner the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey will say the UK economy is bigger than we think because we’re not measuring it properly.

A new measure to be used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – which will include the value of data – will probably be “worth a per cent or two on GDP”. GDP is a key way of tracking economic growth and counts the value of everything produced.

Brexit has reduced the level of goods coming into the UK, Mr Bailey will also say, and the government must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations.

Mr Bailey will caveat he takes no position on “Brexit per se” but does have to point out its consequences.

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Bailey: Inflation expected to rise

In what appears to be a reference to the debate around UK immigration policy, Mr Bailey will also say the UK’s ageing population means there are fewer workers, which should be included in the discussion.

The greying labour force “makes the productivity and investment issue all the more important”.

“I will also say this: when we think about broad policy on labour supply, the economic arguments must feature in the debate,” he’s due to add.

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The exact numbers of people at work are unknown in part due to fewer people answering the phone when the ONS call.

Mr Bailey described this as “a substantial problem”.

He will say: “I do struggle to explain when my fellow [central bank] governors ask me why the British are particularly bad at this. The Bank, alongside other users, including the Treasury, continue to engage with the ONS on efforts to tackle these problems and improve the quality of UK labour market data.”

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Politics

Chancellor’s Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape – saying post-financial crash rules went ‘too far’

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Chancellor's Mansion House speech vows to rip up red tape - saying post-financial crash rules went 'too far'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has criticised post-financial crash regulation, saying it has “gone too far” – setting a course for cutting red tape in her first speech to Britain’s most important gathering of financiers and business leaders.

Increased rules on lenders that followed the 2008 crisis have had “unintended consequences”, Ms Reeves will say in her Mansion House address to industry and the City of London’s lord mayor.

“The UK has been regulating for risk, but not regulating for growth,” she will say.

It cannot be taken for granted that the UK will remain a global financial centre, she is expected to add.

Money blog: Britain’s most affordable town revealed

It’s anticipated Ms Reeves will on Thursday announce “growth-focused remits” for financial regulators and next year publish the first strategy for financial services growth and competitiveness.

Rachel Reeves
Image:
Rachel Reeves


Bank governor to point out ‘consequences’ of Brexit

Also at the Mansion House dinner the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey will say the UK economy is bigger than we think because we’re not measuring it properly.

A new measure to be used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – which will include the value of data – will probably be “worth a per cent or two on GDP”. GDP is a key way of tracking economic growth and counts the value of everything produced.

Brexit has reduced the level of goods coming into the UK, Mr Bailey will also say, and the government must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations.

Mr Bailey will caveat he takes no position on “Brexit per se” but does have to point out its consequences.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Bailey: Inflation expected to rise

In what appears to be a reference to the debate around UK immigration policy, Mr Bailey will also say the UK’s ageing population means there are fewer workers, which should be included in the discussion.

The greying labour force “makes the productivity and investment issue all the more important”.

“I will also say this: when we think about broad policy on labour supply, the economic arguments must feature in the debate,” he’s due to add.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The exact numbers of people at work are unknown in part due to fewer people answering the phone when the ONS call.

Mr Bailey described this as “a substantial problem”.

He will say: “I do struggle to explain when my fellow [central bank] governors ask me why the British are particularly bad at this. The Bank, alongside other users, including the Treasury, continue to engage with the ONS on efforts to tackle these problems and improve the quality of UK labour market data.”

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Environment

China powers up the world’s largest open-sea offshore solar farm

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China powers up the world's largest open-sea offshore solar farm

China’s CHN Energy has connected the first solar units from its 1-gigawatt (GW) offshore solar farm – the world’s first and largest of its kind – to the grid.

The massive project is located off the coast of Dongying City in Shandong Province, eastern China.

Developed by CHN Energy’s Guohua Energy Investment Co., it aims to serve as a benchmark for future large-scale offshore solar farms.

The project sits 8 km (5 miles) off the coast and spans an impressive 1,223 hectares (3,023 acres). It uses 2,934 solar platforms that rest on large-scale offshore steel truss foundations, each platform measuring 60m (197 feet) by 35m (115 feet).

It’s the first time in China that a 66-kilovolt offshore cable paired with an onshore cable has been used for high-capacity, long-distance electricity transmission in the solar sector.

Once completed, this offshore solar farm is expected to generate 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power around 2.67 million urban homes. It could also help save about 503,800 tons of standard coal and cut down carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 1.34 million tons annually.

The project also includes fish farming, making better use of the marine space by integrating renewable energy with aquaculture.

Read more: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens


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