Sources de bitume et eaux thermales de Hit

The bitumen and thermal springs of Hit in Anbar province, Iraq, are among the most historically remarkable geothermal sites in the ancient world, where sulphurous water and natural bitumen have emerged from the earth along the Euphrates valley since antiquity — the bitumen of Hit was used by the ancient Babylonians to waterproof boats and buildings, mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The site's geothermal activity, rooted in the same geological structures that produce Iraq's vast petroleum deposits, creates a dramatic landscape of sulfurous vents, hot springs, and natural tar seeps along the Euphrates riverbank. Hit's extraordinary heritage as a source of natural materials for ancient Mesopotamian civilisation gives these thermal springs an archaeological significance that few geothermal sites anywhere in the world can match.