Archaeological sites of southern Iraq - in pictures

Rich heritage relics are being left to weather away

The Al Aqiser archaeological site in Ain Tamr, near Karbala in Iraq, includes what has been described as one of the oldest eastern Christian churches. AFP

At Al Aqiser archaeological site in Ain Tamr near Karbala in Iraq, all that remains of Al Aqiser, which has stood in Ain Tamr for more than 1,500 years, are crumbling brick and red earthen walls. AFP

In a country battered by years of conflict, government negligence and climate change, Al Aqiser archaeological site near Karbala in Iraq, is crumbling. Iraq's numerous Christian, Islamic and Mesopotamian heritage relics are being left to weather away. AFP

The crumbling brick and earthen walls at Al Aqiser near Karbala in Iraq, where timeless relics from the past are left to deteriorate. AFP

The ziggurat in the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur, in the Diwaniya governorate in southern Iraq. Nippur, the jewel of Iraq's glorious Mesopotamian past was one of the main religious centres of the Akkadians and later the Babylonians. AFP

A crumbling structure at Al Aqiser near Karbala in Iraq. AFP

An archway in the ziggurat in the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur, in the Diwaniya governorate in southern Iraq. AFP

A view across the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur in southern Iraq. Seven thousand years ago Nippur was the jewel of Iraq's glorious Mesopotamian past with its temples, libraries and palaces. AFP

A brief first archaeological dig at the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur in southern Iraq, was in 1851 by Sir Austen Henry Layard, a British polymath. The Oriental Institute of Chicago led 19 seasons of excavation at the site between 1948 and 1990. AFP

Al Aqiser archaeological site in Iraq. All that remains of Al Aqiser, which has stood in Ain Tamr for more than 1,500 years, are crumbling brick and earthen walls. AFP

The ziiggurat at Nippur, in the Diwaniya governorate in southern Iraq. AFP

The interior of the pyramid-shaped ziggurat at Nippur in Iraq. AFP

Centuries of weathering and climate change have left only crumbling evidence of the once-magnificent constructions at Al Aqiser near Karbala in Iraq. AFP

An ancient cistern in the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur. AFP

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