Tell Jokha
Umma · Jokha · Tall Jokha
Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian (c.3500–1750 BCE; peak Umma 2600–2004 BCE)·Sumerian (Umma) → Akkadian → Ur III → Isin-Larsa·🇮🇶 Dhi Qar Governorate, Lagash–Umma Plain, Iraq
About
About Tell Jokha
Tell Jokha is ancient Umma, fierce rival of Lagash (Girsu) in Early Dynastic border wars — Stele of Vultures (Eannatum c.2450 BCE) and the Umma–Lagash Gu'edena field dispute. Ur III provincial capital under Shulgi with governor's palace and 2000+ cuneiform tablets, governor's archive and school texts. Early unsystematic digging and severe 2003 looting pitted the 25-ha mound.
Why it mattersUmma–Lagash frontier key; Ur III provincial archive rivaling Girsu.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Exact location of disputed Gu'edena field?
- 02Can looted tablets be repatriated and provenanced?
Theories
- 01Frontier irrigation conflict thesis (Cooper, Steinkeller)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- 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
c.2600 BCE
Umma vs Lagash — border war; Eannatum Stele of Vultures
c.2112 BCE
Ur III — Umma provincial capital under Shulgi
1854
Loftus notes mound as Jokha
2003
Severe looting pits after Iraq war
On the ground
Structures & features
31.4700° N · 46.0500° E · 10 m · 3 mapped features
- Ur III Governor's Palace and Tablet ArchivepalaceShulgi-era governor's palace with 2000+ Ur III administrative tablets and sealings31.4704° N · 46.0502° E
- Early Dynastic Battlefield Zone (Gu'edena Field)battlefieldDisputed Gu'edena irrigation field between Umma and Girsu, canal traces and boundary stela fragment31.4712° N · 46.0494° E
- Sumerian Residential Quarter and EdubbasettlementED–Ur III houses, craft workshop and school-text edubba with lenticular tablets31.4695° N · 46.0504° E
Gallery