Tell al-'Ubaid is a low, relatively small site. The mound is an oblong about 500 meters north to south and 300 meters east to west and extends about 2 meters above ground level. The majority of the remains are from the Ubaid Period, with an Early Dynastic temple at the highest point.

The site was first worked by Henry Hall of the British Museum in 1919.[8] Later, C. L. Woolley excavated there in 1923 and 1924,[9] followed by Seton Lloyd and Pinhas Delougaz in 1937, the latter working for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.[10] The lower level of the site featured large amounts of Ubaid pottery and associated kilns, as well as a cemetery and some finds from the Jemdet Nasr period. The temple of Ninhursag at the summit was on a cleared oval similar to that at Khafajah. The wall surrounding the temple was built by Shulgi of the Ur III Empire. The earliest evidence for sailing has been found in Kuwait indicating that sailing was known by the Ubaid 3 period.[11]