吉尔苏特洛遗址的平板山

known today as Tello in southern Iraq, is one of the most important early Mesopotamian sites. It was a major centre of the Sumerian state of Lagash and served as the religious and at times administrative heart of that kingdom during the third millennium BCE.Thousands of cuneiform tablets have been recovered from Tablet Hill, a mound south of the main site. Many of the most detailed records of Sumerian rulers, taxation, land management, irrigation and warfare come from this area. After periods of heavy looting, Tablet Hill was left exposed, with no conservation work to stabilise it or protect it from erosion.