The two houses excavated between 1983 and 1989, and published in this volume, date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (ca. 2600 BC) They are unexpectedly large (in one case over 500 square metres) and complete plans of their rooms were recovered, giving valuable evidence for room use, much enhanced by detailed micromorphological studies. Remarkably there were at least 20 burials beneath the floors of the larger house, some of which were unrobbed and richly endowed, making this a prime example of the practice of intramural burial in an urban context.