ERECH

n.

or Uruk

Ancient city, Mesopotamia .

Located northwest of Ur on the Euphrates River , it was one of the greatest cities of Sumer and was enclosed by brickwork walls that, according to legend, were built by the mythical hero Gilgamesh . Excavations have traced successive cities that date from the prehistoric Ubaid period ( 0441; 5000 BC) to Parthian times (126 BC–AD 224), when in 0441; 70 BC an ancient school of learned scribes was still using cuneiform script. Urban life in what is known as the Erech-Jamdat Nasr period ( 0441; 3500–2900 BC) is more fully illustrated at Erech than at any other Mesopotamian city.