ABSTRACT
For the chronology of the Early Dynastic period, stratification is especially significant at two sites in the region of the Diyala River —Tell Asmar and Khafajah. In an area southeast of the Abu Temple at Tell Asmar and in an area between the Sin Temple and the Temple Oval at Khafajah, many private houses of the Early Dynastic period were excavated. In the Sumerian King List the first dynasty after the flood is the first that was centered at Kish. In the First Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian King List names four kings—Mesannepadda, Meskiagnanna, Elulu, and Balulu. Meskiagnanna, third king in the dynasty, is also known from the Tummal Inscription. The finding of the inscriptions of Mesannepadda and Nintur in the rubbish strata can suggest that the burial places of the dynasty were in the region. After the First Dynasty of Ur and before Sargon of Akkad, the Sumerian King List records eleven more dynasties.
