Tell Jokha

Why it mattersUmma–Lagash frontier key; Ur III provincial archive rivaling Girsu.

Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.

Built

c.3500 BCE

Period

Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian (c.3500–1750 BCE; peak Umma 2600–2004 BCE)

Culture

Sumerian (Umma) → Akkadian → Ur III → Isin-Larsa

Builders

Giššakidu, Ur-Lamma, Ur-Utu (Umma dynasts)

Purpose

Settlement and ceremonial centre

Abandoned

c.1750 BCE

Rediscovered

1854 (W. K. Loftus)

Excavation

Partially excavated

1. c.2600 BCE

   Umma vs Lagash — border war; Eannatum Stele of Vultures

2. c.2112 BCE

   Ur III — Umma provincial capital under Shulgi

3. 1854

   Loftus notes mound as Jokha

4. 2003

   Severe looting pits after Iraq war

• Ur III Governor's Palace and Tablet Archive

  palace

  Shulgi-era governor's palace with 2000+ Ur III administrative tablets and sealings

  31.4704° N · 46.0502° E

• Early Dynastic Battlefield Zone (Gu'edena Field)

  battlefield

  Disputed Gu'edena irrigation field between Umma and Girsu, canal traces and boundary stela fragment

  31.4712° N · 46.0494° E

• Sumerian Residential Quarter and Edubba

  settlement

  ED–Ur III houses, craft workshop and school-text edubba with lenticular tablets

  31.4695° N · 46.0504° E