Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet, 2050 BCE - 2020 BCE
Clay
2.28 x 4.65
CT.005 IS LSO.27
Sumerian cuneiform is one of the earlies known forms of written expression. Firs appearing in the 4th millennium BC in wha is now Iraq, it was dubbed cuneifor (‘wedge-shaped’) because...
Sumerian cuneiform is one of the earlies known forms of written expression. Firs appearing in the 4th millennium BC in wha is now Iraq, it was dubbed cuneifor (‘wedge-shaped’) because of the distinctiv wedge form of the letters, created b pressing a reed stylus into wet clay. Earl Sumerian writings were essentiall pictograms, which became simplified in th early and mid 3rd millennium BC to a serie of strokes, along with a commensurat reduction in the number of discrete sign used (from c.1500 to 600). The scrip system had a very long life and was used b the Sumerians as well as numerous late groups – notably the Assyrians, Elamites,
Akkadians and Hittites – for around thre thousand years. Certain signs and phoneti standards live on in modern languages o the Middle and Far East, but the writin system is essentially extinct. It wa therefore cause for great excitement whe the ‘code’ of ancient cuneiform was cracke by a group of English, French and Germa Assyriologists and philologists in the mi 19th century AD. This opened up a vita source of information about these ancien groups that could not have been obtained i any other way.
Cuneiform was used on monument dedicated to heroic – and usually royal –
individuals, but perhaps its most importan function was that of record keeping. Th palace-based society at Ur and other larg urban centres was accompanied by remarkably complex and multifacete bureaucracy, which was run by professiona administrators and a priestly class, all o whom were answerable to central cour control. Most of what we know about th way the culture was run and administere comes from cuneiform tablets, which recor the everyday running of the temple an palace complexes in minute detail, as in th present case. The Barakat Gallery ha secured the services of Professor Lamber (University of Birmingham), a renowne expert in the decipherment and translatio of cuneiform, to examine and process th information on these tablets. The following i a transcription of his analysis of this tablet:
Clay Tablet with 35 lines of Sumerian cuneiform on obverse and reverse. The top of the tablet is lost, so the beginning and end of the document are lost. But a greater part of the document remains with clear, legible writing. It is an administrative document from the period of the Third Dynasty of Ur, any date a the end lost, but c.2050-2020 B.C. is the right range. It is a list of domestic animals and the names of the men in charge of them. The number are quite huge, which proves that this is a government document from the period when much of the country’s wealth was in government hands.
Translation:
120 male goats.
Shu-ili: shepherd.
1200 sheep, 180 rams, 60 virgin lambs.
Nah-ilum shepherd.
600 sheep, 120 rams.
Ishdush-kin, chief shepherd.
900 sheep, 180 rams.
Ir-…….batash, shepherd.
240 sheep, 60 rams.
………………..*
300 sheep, 60 rams.
Ilum-rabi, sheep shepherd.
2100 sheep, 183 ewes, 240 rams.
………zi, shepherd.
1280 sheep, 120 ewes, 60 rams.
Inazzir, shepherd.
240 sheep, shepherd.
1ndada, shepherd.
180 sheep, 60 ewes.
Ur-Shulpa’s, shepherd.
Sheep of the governor.
300 sheep, 60 rams.
Madam-ili, shepherd.
300 sheep. 60 ewes: Mumu, shepherd.
Sheep of Ninbargesi.
600 sheep, 120 ewes: Ipqusha, shepherd.
Total: 480 ewes.
Total: 1320 rams.
Total: 60 lambs.
Total: 120 billy-goats.
The terminology and other aspects of such texts need study, but this is a valuable resource for cultural history.
Akkadians and Hittites – for around thre thousand years. Certain signs and phoneti standards live on in modern languages o the Middle and Far East, but the writin system is essentially extinct. It wa therefore cause for great excitement whe the ‘code’ of ancient cuneiform was cracke by a group of English, French and Germa Assyriologists and philologists in the mi 19th century AD. This opened up a vita source of information about these ancien groups that could not have been obtained i any other way.
Cuneiform was used on monument dedicated to heroic – and usually royal –
individuals, but perhaps its most importan function was that of record keeping. Th palace-based society at Ur and other larg urban centres was accompanied by remarkably complex and multifacete bureaucracy, which was run by professiona administrators and a priestly class, all o whom were answerable to central cour control. Most of what we know about th way the culture was run and administere comes from cuneiform tablets, which recor the everyday running of the temple an palace complexes in minute detail, as in th present case. The Barakat Gallery ha secured the services of Professor Lamber (University of Birmingham), a renowne expert in the decipherment and translatio of cuneiform, to examine and process th information on these tablets. The following i a transcription of his analysis of this tablet:
Clay Tablet with 35 lines of Sumerian cuneiform on obverse and reverse. The top of the tablet is lost, so the beginning and end of the document are lost. But a greater part of the document remains with clear, legible writing. It is an administrative document from the period of the Third Dynasty of Ur, any date a the end lost, but c.2050-2020 B.C. is the right range. It is a list of domestic animals and the names of the men in charge of them. The number are quite huge, which proves that this is a government document from the period when much of the country’s wealth was in government hands.
Translation:
120 male goats.
Shu-ili: shepherd.
1200 sheep, 180 rams, 60 virgin lambs.
Nah-ilum shepherd.
600 sheep, 120 rams.
Ishdush-kin, chief shepherd.
900 sheep, 180 rams.
Ir-…….batash, shepherd.
240 sheep, 60 rams.
………………..*
300 sheep, 60 rams.
Ilum-rabi, sheep shepherd.
2100 sheep, 183 ewes, 240 rams.
………zi, shepherd.
1280 sheep, 120 ewes, 60 rams.
Inazzir, shepherd.
240 sheep, shepherd.
1ndada, shepherd.
180 sheep, 60 ewes.
Ur-Shulpa’s, shepherd.
Sheep of the governor.
300 sheep, 60 rams.
Madam-ili, shepherd.
300 sheep. 60 ewes: Mumu, shepherd.
Sheep of Ninbargesi.
600 sheep, 120 ewes: Ipqusha, shepherd.
Total: 480 ewes.
Total: 1320 rams.
Total: 60 lambs.
Total: 120 billy-goats.
The terminology and other aspects of such texts need study, but this is a valuable resource for cultural history.