Excavations on unpromising mounds in the Iraqi desert revealed Sumer’s earliest city. Surviving relics and a rebuilt temple have given experts more clues about the ancient metropolis of Eridu.

A version of this story appears in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine. The nonprofit National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world ...

Visiting the coast can help you relieve stress and get more active—and it may even change the way you cope with pain. There's little more relaxing than spending time at the beach—but what's ...