The Kesh Temple Hymn stands as one of humanity's oldest preserved literary treasures, originating in the city of Nippur nestled in ancient Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Unearthed by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania during excavations in the 19th century, the hymn, inscribed on clay tablets, dates to the Early Dynastic IIIa period, circa 2600-2500 BCE.The hymn's significance lies not only in its antiquity, but in the elaborate description it provides of the temple's pivotal ...