The mystery surrounding the Sumerian temple in the ancient city of Girsu – in the modern-day city of Tello, Iraq – has finally been solved. Archaeologists have found evidence that this 4,000-year-old ancient Iraqi temple was dedicated to Alexander the Great, who was worshiped in the region as a “divine figure”.

Scientists were troubled by the discovery of Greek inscriptions and ancient Greek coins in the excavation site of the temple.

Now, archaeologists at the British Museum believe that the temple of Alexander the Great was founded at Girsu, possibly by Alexander himself.

Representation of the temple of Alexander the Great

Girsu was a city of the Sumerians, one of the first known civilizations in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia.

After excavations began in the 19th century, archaeologists suspected that there was a Greek “construction” in ancient Girsu, but the only evidence was a mysterious tablet, which read in Greek and Aramaic: “Adad-nadin-aḫḫe” meaning “donor of the two brothers”.

What troubled the researchers was that the temple had been abandoned in 1750 BC, more than 1,000 years before Alexander the Great was even born.

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The excavation site at ancient Girsu

British Museum archaeologist Dr Sebastien Rey now believes that the Greeks had established their own temple at the ancient site, possibly to declare Alexander’s divinity.

“It’s really shocking. Our discoveries place the later temple at the time when Alexander the Great lived,” said Dr Ray. “We found ancient offerings, the kinds of offerings that the ancient Greeks made after a battle, such as figures of horses, soldiers and horsemen,” he said.

Archaeologists found silver coins next to an altar of offerings usually found in ancient Greek temples. Offerings included terracotta horsemen that closely resembled the young recruit’s personal guard. All this suggests that the site was used as a place of worship by the men and retinue of Alexander the Great.

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Terracotta horse found in the temple of Alexander the Great

Researchers claim that these findings mean that whoever made the offerings in the temple were either very close to Alexander or even that they were made by the conqueror himself.

“There is a possibility, we will never know for sure, that Alexander the Great may have come here on his way back to Babylon shortly before he died and built his temple,” Dr Ray told the Telegraph.