Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet, 2038 BCE - 2029 BCE
Clay
2.32 x 4.96
CT.014 IS LSO.101A
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:
This tablet as a total of 25 lines on obverse and reverse and is written in a large clear scribal band. The top of the obverse and the bottom of the reverse are damaged, but most of the text is preserved and clear. It is a document dated to the 6th year of Shu-Sin, fourth king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2032 BC. It is a list of bronze vessels under the care of a priest called the Lumah. Presumably this was the whole stock of such vessels in his place of worship. Other tablets of this period are known with such lists of vessels, but this one has many rare words and even one sign not yet understood.
Clay Tablet, with Sumerian Cuneiform Inscriptio The tablet has a total of 33 lines, written in a large, clear scribal hand. Most is well preserved and very clear, but there is some damage to the top of the tablet, with small pieces having been re-attached. The content is an administrative document from the period of the Third Dynasty of Ur, dated to the reign of Sha-Sin, fourth king of the dynasty, c. 2038-2029 B.C. It lists quantities of flax-seed by year of the king, for the first seven years of his reign. As normal for Sumer, the years are indicated by a name for each, giving the most important event of that year. The flax seed is measured by bulk using the two measures sila an gur. The sila was about .85 of a litre, and a gur was 300 sila.
Translation:
(..)+20 gur, 60 sila of flax-seed: Year that Shu-Sin (became) king.
274 gur, 240 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, caulked the boat of (the god) Enki, “Ibex of the Apsu.”
151 gur, 220 sila: Year that he destroyed Simanum.
357 gur, 180 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidnumat bay.”
149 gur, 180 sila: Year after Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidum at bay”.
274 gur, 230 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, erected a magnificent stele for Enlil and Ninlil.
115 gur, 135 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, destroyed the land of Zabshali.
(Total): 1404 gur, 45 sila of flax-seed.
Deficit (?): 2 gu (In charge): Mr Nabi-Shulg
(end)
The background of this text is the following. Much farm land at this time was owned by temples of the knig, and was cultivated under farm managers. This document certainly comes from the office of such an estate. No details of this are given since the fact was of course well known to those responsible for this document. Flax-seed was the source of vegetable oil at this time, so it was extensively cultivated. This document lists the quantities produced in the first seven years of the reign of king Shu-Sin to show how crops varied year by year. The last year recorded was evidently a bad year. The figures do not quite add up correctly, but nearly so. Either the ancient scribe or we have made a small mistake somewhere.
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:
This tablet as a total of 25 lines on obverse and reverse and is written in a large clear scribal band. The top of the obverse and the bottom of the reverse are damaged, but most of the text is preserved and clear. It is a document dated to the 6th year of Shu-Sin, fourth king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2032 BC. It is a list of bronze vessels under the care of a priest called the Lumah. Presumably this was the whole stock of such vessels in his place of worship. Other tablets of this period are known with such lists of vessels, but this one has many rare words and even one sign not yet understood.
Clay Tablet, with Sumerian Cuneiform Inscriptio The tablet has a total of 33 lines, written in a large, clear scribal hand. Most is well preserved and very clear, but there is some damage to the top of the tablet, with small pieces having been re-attached. The content is an administrative document from the period of the Third Dynasty of Ur, dated to the reign of Sha-Sin, fourth king of the dynasty, c. 2038-2029 B.C. It lists quantities of flax-seed by year of the king, for the first seven years of his reign. As normal for Sumer, the years are indicated by a name for each, giving the most important event of that year. The flax seed is measured by bulk using the two measures sila an gur. The sila was about .85 of a litre, and a gur was 300 sila.
Translation:
(..)+20 gur, 60 sila of flax-seed: Year that Shu-Sin (became) king.
274 gur, 240 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, caulked the boat of (the god) Enki, “Ibex of the Apsu.”
151 gur, 220 sila: Year that he destroyed Simanum.
357 gur, 180 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidnumat bay.”
149 gur, 180 sila: Year after Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidum at bay”.
274 gur, 230 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, erected a magnificent stele for Enlil and Ninlil.
115 gur, 135 sila: Year that Shu-Sin, king of Ur, destroyed the land of Zabshali.
(Total): 1404 gur, 45 sila of flax-seed.
Deficit (?): 2 gu (In charge): Mr Nabi-Shulg
(end)
The background of this text is the following. Much farm land at this time was owned by temples of the knig, and was cultivated under farm managers. This document certainly comes from the office of such an estate. No details of this are given since the fact was of course well known to those responsible for this document. Flax-seed was the source of vegetable oil at this time, so it was extensively cultivated. This document lists the quantities produced in the first seven years of the reign of king Shu-Sin to show how crops varied year by year. The last year recorded was evidently a bad year. The figures do not quite add up correctly, but nearly so. Either the ancient scribe or we have made a small mistake somewhere.