Khafajah
Khafajah or Khafaje (Arabic: خفاجة; ancient Tutub, Arabic: توتوب) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province (Iraq). It was part of the city-state of Eshnunna. The site lies east of Baghdad and southwest of Eshnunna. History of archaeological research. Khafajah was excavated for 7 seasons in the early 1930s primarily by an Oriental Institute of Chicago team led by Henri Frankfort with Thorkild Jacobsen and Pinhas Delougaz. For two seasons, the site was worked by a joint team of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the University of Pennsylvania. Khafajah and its environment. Khafajah lies on the  Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. The site consists of four mounds, labeled A through D. The main one, Mound A, extends back as far as the Uruk period and contained an oval temple, a temple of the god Sin, and a temple of Nintu. The Dur-Samsuiluna fort was found on mounds B and C. Mound D contained private homes and a temple for the god Sin where the archive tablets where found in two heaps. The Sin Temple was probably dedicated to the moon god Sin, also known as "Nanna" in the Sumerian language. This identification is  based on the evidence of small crescent moons found within the temple. The construction of this temple began in 3300-2900 BC (late Uruk or Jemdet-Nasr period), and at least 10 architectural phases have been identified in the subsequent rebuilding that continued. The temple’s last phase was during the Early Dynastic III period. Occupation history. Early Bronze. Khafajah was occupied during the Early Dynastic Period, through the Sargonid Period, then came under the control of Eshnunna after the fall of the Ur III Empire. Middle Bronze. Later, after Eshnunna was captured by Babylon, a fort was built at  the site by Samsu-iluna of the First Babylonian dynasty and named Dur-Samsuiluna. Mesopotamian chariots were created in Tutub. Material culture. The history of Khafajah is known in somewhat more detail for a period of several decades as a result of the discovery of 112 clay tablets (one now lost) in a temple of Sin. The tablets constitute part of an official archive and include mostly loan and legal documents. The Oriental Institute of Chicago holds 57 of the tablets with the remainder being in the Iraq Museum. Some Early Dynastic Sumerian statues from Khafajah are on the Oriental  Institute's list of Lost Treasures from Iraq (after April 9, 2003); however, they have been housed at the Sulaymaniyah Museum since 1961 (see the gallery below). Gallery. The Iraq Museum's Sumerian Gallery displays several Sumerian statues from the Temple of Sin and the Temple of Nintu (V and VI), including part of a hoard found at the Nintu Temple.