A general view of the Uruk archaeological site at Warka in Iraq.
The site of Uruk was discovered in 1849 by William Kennett Loftus who led the first excavations from 1850 to 1854. The Arabic name of Babylonia, al-?Iraq, is thought to be derived from the name Uruk, via Aramaic (Erech) and possibly Middle Persian (Eraq) transmission.