Khafajah

Tell Khafajah is an archaeological site in Iraq’s Diyala region containing remains from the third and second millennia BCE. It is one of several important Diyala Valley tells that document early urban and temple architecture in Mesopotamia.

The visible remains are those of a tell with exposed mudbrick foundations and the outlines of large public and religious buildings. Archaeological publications highlight the site’s temple precincts, fortifications and the domestic neighborhoods revealed by trenches.

Khafajah was occupied in the Jemdet Nasr, Early Dynastic and Old Babylonian periods and played a role in the regional network of towns in the Diyala Valley. Excavations carried out in the 1930s by international archaeological teams recovered tablets, seals and architectural sequences that clarified the site’s administrative and religious functions.

The tell sits in the Diyala River valley in eastern Iraq within Diyala Governorate, part of the ancient Mesopotamian heartland east of the Tigris and within the broader Diyala archaeological landscape.

• Excavations and finds: Systematic excavations in the 1930s recovered cuneiform tablets, seals and ceramics that helped define the Diyala regional sequence for the third and second millennia BCE.

What to See #

• Main tell: The main tell contains domestic and administrative strata; excavation trenches revealed mudbrick foundations and ceramic assemblages spanning Jemdet Nasr, Early Dynastic and Old Babylonian phases.
• Temple and precinct: A central temple and fortified precinct were uncovered, including a long sequence of cult and administrative architecture reflecting the site's role in the Diyala region.