Tell Yelkhi — Diyala Census Mound
Tell Yelkhi · Yelkhi Mound
Early Dynastic III to Akkadian (2600–2200 BCE)·Sumerian–Akkadian, Eshnunna sphere·🇮🇶 Diyala Governorate, Hamrin Dam salvage zone, Diyala tributary, Iraq
About
About Tell Yelkhi — Diyala Census Mound
Small but archive-rich Hamrin tell salvaged before dam, excavated by Japanese Mission (Fujii). Two key archives: Akkadian-period ration grain lists and Early Dynastic III census tablets detailing households — earliest population census in Mesopotamia. Continuity through Akkadian military administration shows Eshnunna extension. Infant jar burials and bitumen-lined drainage demonstrate Akkadian urban utilities.
Why it mattersRare Early Dynastic demographic archive; Hamrin census data.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Population decline under Akkadian
Theories
- 01Yelkhi may have been Akkadian military granary outpost
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. 2600 BCE
- Period
- Early Dynastic III to Akkadian (2600–2200 BCE)
- Culture
- Sumerian–Akkadian, Eshnunna sphere
- Purpose
- Sumerian city mound of Hamrin providing censuses, ration lists and Early Dynastic administrative archive under Akkadian empire
- Excavation
- Excavated
1978
Japanese Hamrin expedition excavates archive
1981
Census tablets published by Sugimoto
On the ground
Structures & features
34.2500° N · 44.9500° E · 130 m · 2 mapped features
Akkadian grain ration archive room
archiveCollapsed house with ration list tablets in situ
34.2505° N · 44.9505° EEarly Dynastic census building
structureAdministrative building with census tablets NB
34.2495° N · 44.9495° E