Detail of a stone vase from Uruk. In a well-known description of ancient Babylonia, Berossus (or Bel-re'ušunu, to use his real name) says that. the land lies between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. It produces wild barley, chickpea, and sesame, and even, in its marshlands, edible roots, called gongai. These roots are the equal of barley in nutrition.