Ziggurat Mound of Tell Jokha (Umma — Shara Temple)
Tell Jokha Ziggurat · Umma (SHARA) ziggurat · Tell Jokha Shara temple
Early Dynastic to Ur III·Sumerian (Umma dynasty / Ur III province)·🇮🇶 Dhi Qar Governorate, Tell Jokha (ancient Umma) — central mound Shara temple terrace, Iraq
About
About Ziggurat Mound of Tell Jokha (Umma — Shara Temple)
Temple terrace of the city-god Shara at Tell Jokha (ancient Umma), central mound — classic Early Dynastic to Ur III ziggurat mound 60×45 m base, 15 m high today, of mudbrick with baked-brick temenos. Umma contested Lagash for Gu-edenna plain (Stele of Vultures). Platform supports E-mah temple of Shara, attested in Ur III Umma archive (>10,000 tablets). Iraqi salvage by Directorate of Antiquities noted thick Early Dynastic niched walls under Ur III rebuild. Proposed core under later Sassanian fort. Links Umma–Lagash frontier and Ur III provincial administration.
Why it mattersUmma's Shara temple platform complementary to Lagash Ibgal; huge Umma tablet archive maps Ur III economy and Lagash-Umma conflict.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of Lugal-zage-si palace
- 02Stratigraphy ED vs Ur III layers
Theories
- 01Umma platform mirrors Ibgal but smaller due to Lagash rivalry
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. 2600–2100 BCE (Early Dynastic to Ur III)
- Period
- Early Dynastic to Ur III
- Culture
- Sumerian (Umma dynasty / Ur III province)
- Builders
- Lugal-zage-si, Ur III governors
- Purpose
- Temple terrace of Shara (E-mah) — city-god shrine
- Abandoned
- c. 2000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1949 (Iraqi DG soundings) / 1999 survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 2600–2100 BCE (Early Dynastic to Ur III)
Initial construction
c. 1409 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
31.6656° N · 45.8833° E · 15 m · 2 mapped features
Shara temple terrace
ziggurat60×45 m mudbrick platform mound
31.6656° N · 45.8833° ETemenos wall south
wallBaked-brick temenos perimeter
31.6652° N · 45.8835° E
Gallery