en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarra
3 corrections found
built-in 847
The Great Mosque of Samarra was not built in 847. UNESCO’s nomination dossier dates the mosque to 849–852.
Full reasoning
This date is contradicted by UNESCO’s official nomination dossier for the Samarra World Heritage site. In its description of the Great Mosque, UNESCO states that the mosque “was the largest mosque in the Islamic World when it was built between 849 and 852.” That places construction after 847, so the article’s date is incorrect.
1 source
- Samarra Archaeological City (Iraq) – UNESCO / ICOMOS nomination dossier
The Great Mosque and its Spiral Minaret ... was the largest mosque in the Islamic World when it was built between 849 and 852.
It lasted from 5,500 BCE and eventually collapsed in 3,900 BCE.
This date range is too late at the end. The Samarra culture is generally dated to roughly 5550–4800 BCE, not to 3900 BCE.
Full reasoning
The sentence is describing the prehistoric Samarra/Samarra culture. Standard archaeological dating places the Samarra culture in the 6th to early 5th millennium BCE, ending around 4800 BCE rather than 3900 BCE. An MIT OpenCourseWare handout lists “Samarra Culture (5550–4800 BCE)” and places Tell es-Sawwan at “ca 5500–4800 BCE.” A classic excavation report on Tell es-Sawwan likewise says the site’s occupation stretched only into the early fifth millennium BCE, which is still about a thousand years earlier than 3900 BCE.
2 sources
- MIT OpenCourseWare: Grains, animals and the village world
Samarra Culture (5550-4800 BCE) ... Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq, (ca 5500–4800 BCE).
- The Excavations at Tell es-Sawwan: First Preliminary Report (1964)
The occupation of Tell es-Sawwan was limited to a period stretching from some time during the sixth millennium south into the early fifth millennium B.C., after which it was effectively abandoned.
127
The yearly precipitation total in the climate table is arithmetically wrong. The monthly values shown on the page add up to 171 mm, not 127 mm.
Full reasoning
This is an internal calculation error in the climate table itself. The monthly precipitation values listed are 25, 30, 29, 21, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 20, and 34 mm. Adding those values gives 171 mm, so the table’s year total of 127 mm is incorrect. This also matches the prose immediately above the table, which says that about 171 mm of precipitation falls annually.
1 source
- Samarra - Wikipedia
Average precipitation mm (inches): Jan 25, Feb 30, Mar 29, Apr 21, May 8, Jun 0, Jul 0, Aug 0, Sep 0, Oct 4, Nov 20, Dec 34; Year 127. The prose above says: 'About 171 mm (6.73 in) of precipitation falls annually.'