5000-year-old Sumerian restaurant discovered in Dhi Qar, Iraq

An American archaeological mission working in Dhi Qar, Iraq, announced on Sunday the discovery of a 5,000-year-old Sumerian restaurant and residential neighbourhoods.

The Dhi Qar Antiquities and Excavations Directorate said in a statement that the mission from the University of Pennsylvania, working in in the archaeological city of Lagash, “discovered a structural formation that is similar to what we know today as a public or popular restaurant in terms of its design and function.”

The Directorate added that the mission found “the remains of stoves and ovens that were used to prepare food and bake bread. Benches were also found attached to the walls, intended for sitting and eating on. In one of the rooms of this place, a large jar was found buried in the ground, believed to be used to store and cool liquids.”