Eridu

Eridu ā´rĭdo͞o [key], ancient city of Sumer, Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates, S of Ur (in present-day S Iraq). Excavations conducted from 1946 to 1949 revealed that Eridu was the earliest known settlement in S Mesopotamia and dated from c.5000 BC A temple discovered there was probably dedicated to the water god Ea.