Eridu

For as long as I can remember, right back to when I was a teenager trying to piece together the story of architecture, the ziggurat at Eridu had been a presence in my life.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

Eridu, founded in 5,400BC, was a sacred place for millennia until finally being abandoned in the 7th century AD.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

When we reached Eridu, the young soldiers were as excited as I was.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

For as long as I can remember, right back to when I was a teenager trying to piece together the story of architecture, the ziggurat at Eridu had been a presence in my life.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

When we reached Eridu, the young soldiers were as excited as I was.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

Eridu, founded in 5,400BC, was a sacred place for millennia until finally being abandoned in the 7th century AD.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

I finally got to Eridu just months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

I finally got to Eridu just months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Guardian young arts critic competition 2011: Our critics' picks 2011

Uruk, Eridu, and Lagash suffered little or no looting; while Larsa and other sites had been extensively looted.

The Devastation of Iraq's Past Eakin, Hugh 2008

Ancient places with such Seussian names as Uruk, Eridu and Kish -- to say nothing of that ur-urban place called Ur -- were in fact the world's first real cities, the show argues, with a level of social organization that can truly be called civilized.

Why Should We Care? 2007