Susa: Acropolis

De Morgan's Pillar

Susa (Elamitic, Babylonian: Šušim; Greek τὰ Σοῦσα): capital of Elam, favorite residence of the Persian king Darius I the Great.

History

Photos

Only the strange structure known as De Morgan's Pillar reminds the visitor of the enormeous amount of sand and rubbish that has been romoved by the French excavators who investigated the acropolis of Susa in the last quarter of the twentieth century. This site was already occupied in the fourth millennium BCE, and was a major production center of ceramics.

Today, the hill looks as if it has been used by the army to test some explosives: an empty plain, full of big craters. The main excavation is in the southwestern part of the hill (cf. map). Several ancient Elamite temples were discovered, but there is almost nothing left to be seen.

A satellite photo can be seen here.

Ancient-Warfare.com, the online home of Ancient Warfare magazine


The "donjon", seen from the northwest	The excavation of the Acropolis	Acropolis, seen from the north