The West Hammar marshes are located in the governorate of Dhi Qar in southern Iraq. They form part of the lower floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which discharge into the Persian Gulf via the Shatt al-Arab after confluence. The West Hammar marshes are fed by the Euphrates and the Main Outfall Drain (MOD) canal. The depth varies between 0.5 and 2 metres, and the water is brackish — a mixture of fresh and saltwater.
Along with the East Hammar, Central and Hawizeh marshes, the West Hammar marshes form an important ecosystem. They are dominated by common reed and southern cattail and are home to many bird and fish species. The main threat to the marshes is the lack of water. Following extensive drainage during Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1990s, the Iraqi government has made significant efforts to restore the area's water resources through large-scale re-flooding in the 2000s. However, some areas have become completely dry again today. Pollution resulting from oil exploration and the legacy of several wars are other factors affecting the marshes.
The Arabic name for the marshes is 'Ahwār' (أهوار). The indigenous inhabitants are the Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار), also known as the Ma'dān (Arabic: معدان), and comprise many different tribes that are famous for their traditional way of life. Their reed houses bear a striking resemblance to the depictions of houses on 5,000-year-old cylinder seals from ancient Mesopotamia.
In 2016, the marshes of southern Iraq were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This is in recognition not only of their unique ecosystem but also their cultural significance, exemplified by three of the most important ancient Mesopotamian cities: Uruk, Ur, and Eridu. Historically, the marshes have undergone several phases depending on changes in sea level and climate, including river hydrology and precipitation. This had a major impact on the people who lived here. By the 4th millennium BCE, the sea level — and consequently the water table in the Mesopotamian alluvial plain — had dropped. Parts of the plain became dry and were permanently settled. Although we know that the so-called Holocene Humid Period had ended by this time, the marshes provided an abundance of food and building materials thanks to their plentiful freshwater. In the following millennia, the sea level of the Persian Gulf dropped further, but not as drastically as before, as far as we know, based on seabed corings. This is why southern Iraq's marshes remained largely unchanged until modern times, although they are definitely not the same in terms of size and ecological characteristics. Little is known about the occupation of the marshes' core area or other human activities prior to the rise of the Islamic era. Therefore, studying its human-environment relationship is important, as it helps us to understand how humans interact with and impact their environment.