The site was first described by Claudius James Rich in 1811. Aqar Quf (referred to then as Akerkuf, Agger Koof, or Akar-kuf) was visited and examined in 1837 by Francis Rawdon Chesney. The name of Dur Kurigalzu was identified by Henry Rawlinson in the mid-19th century. Excavations were conducted from 1942 through 1945, by Taha Baqir and Seton Lloyd in a joint excavation by the Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. Over 100 cuneiform tablets of the Kassite period were recovered, now in the National Museum of Iraq. The excavations included the ziggurat, three temples and part of the palace of Dur Kurigalzu II. The Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities has continued to do some excavation around the ziggurat as part of a restoration project under Saddam Hussein during the 1970s that had reconstructed the lowest stage of the structure. The three excavated areas are the mound of Aqar Quf (including the ziggurat and large temple), a public building (approximately to the west), and Tell al-Abyad where a large palace was partially uncovered (about to the south-west). The erosion of the ziggurat exposed details of construction that are not readily available in any other temple tower. Thus, it has been a valuable primer for architectural historians. Nowhere else are the layers of reed mats and reed bundles that hold the structure together and offset differential settling as visible as they are here. Many of the currently known major works of art from the Kassite period were found within the palace (located at Tell al-Abyad) at Aqar Quf. Another area within Dur-Kurigalzu, Tell Abu Shijar, was excavated by Iraqi archaeologists and the results have recently been published. The area of Aqar Quf has potential for future excavations since only small areas within the enclosure wall have been excavated. Especially important is the possibility of a stratigraphic column through all of Kassite times. For 16 seasons in the 1960s and 1970s the Iraqi government did conservation and restoration work at the site  Aqar Quf is currently suffering environmental damage and urban encroachment. Natural factors like rain and standing groundwater have contributed to the erosion of the ziggurat and damage to the ruins, especially along the south-west side. As a result of this damage, the ziggurat is in danger of further deterioration as well as collapse if preventive measures are not taken.