A Great Discovery
A Great Discovery A Great Discovery Introduction The country of Iraq was once part of a much larger area called Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is a Greek word. It means "between two rivers." Thousands of years ago, some of the oldest and most important civilizations in the world were in Mesopotamia. One of these was the Sumerian civilization. It began about 5,000 years ago. The people of Sumer lived in what is now southern Iraq. Sumer is called "the cradle of civilization." The people of Sumer in
登录后可以听外教原声朗读。
A Great Discovery
A Great Discovery
Introduction
The country of Iraq was once part of a much larger area called Mesopotamia.Mesopotamia is a Greek word. It means "between two rivers."Thousands of years ago, some of the oldest and most important civilizations in the world were in Mesopotamia.
One of these was the Sumerian civilization. It began about 5,000 years ago.The people of Sumer lived in what is now southern Iraq.Sumer is called "the cradle of civilization."The people of Sumer invented writing and built the first cities.
The greatest of these cities was the city of Ur.The ruins of Ur are about two hundred miles south of what is now Baghdad.In 1922, British archeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley began to explore the ruins of Ur.This story is based on what he found there.
Chapter 1 The Golden Beads
Abdullah loosened his head covering. Another hard day of work was beginning.His job was to help remove dirt from ancient tombs or graves.Abdullah tried to count all of the graves on the excavation site.But he soon stopped counting. "There are lots of graves," he thought. "I can't count all of them.And, if Sheik Hamoudi sees me counting graves instead of working, he will send me away."Abdullah went back to work. While he worked, he dreamed of finding a hidden treasure.
Sheik Hamoudi worked for the Englishman, Charles Leonard Woolley.The Sheik was in charge while the Englishman and his wife were away in Baghdad.The Sheik was fair to his workers, but Abdullah was afraid of him.Abdullah had grown up in the south of Iraq. He had never been far away from his village.
