Iraq dig uncovers 5,000-year-old pub-restaurant

Archaeologists working in Iraq have uncovered the remains of a tavern dating back nearly 5,000 years they hope will throw new light on the emergence of the world's first cities

LAGASH, Iraq: Archaeologists in southern Iraq have uncovered the remains of a tavern dating back nearly 5,000 years they hope will illuminate the lives of ordinary people in the world's first cities.

The US-Italian team made the find in the ruins of ancient Lagash, northeast of the modern city of Nasiriyah, which was already known to have been one of the first urban centres of the Sumerian civilisation of ancient Iraq.