Cuneiform Clay Bulla, 2038 BCE
Clay
2.51
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 clay bulla consists of three sides that are not flat, and is hollow. It served around a rope or something of that kind that held the mouth of a sack or other container in order to secure it with the authority of the person who ordered the inscription put on it. There are three lines of cuneiform about the matter involved, and three lines giving the date. The date is fully clear:
Month: Shuniggal. Year: the high priestess of Nanna of Karzida was installed. The year is the 9th year of Amar-Sin, king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2038 BC.
The three lines about the matter involved are not fully clean, being partly covered with incrustation, but the word "scribe" is clear.
The seal impression shows a seated deity being approached by a goddess who is leading in a worshipper with a bare head. A three-line cuneiform inscription names the seal-owner, gives his title "scribe" and the name of his father. Only the title is now clear, since the rest is too feint.
Bullae were meant to be broken at the right moment, so complete specimens are rare. This one is a large example, and the seal was also large and fine.
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 clay bulla consists of three sides that are not flat, and is hollow. It served around a rope or something of that kind that held the mouth of a sack or other container in order to secure it with the authority of the person who ordered the inscription put on it. There are three lines of cuneiform about the matter involved, and three lines giving the date. The date is fully clear:
Month: Shuniggal. Year: the high priestess of Nanna of Karzida was installed. The year is the 9th year of Amar-Sin, king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2038 BC.
The three lines about the matter involved are not fully clean, being partly covered with incrustation, but the word "scribe" is clear.
The seal impression shows a seated deity being approached by a goddess who is leading in a worshipper with a bare head. A three-line cuneiform inscription names the seal-owner, gives his title "scribe" and the name of his father. Only the title is now clear, since the rest is too feint.
Bullae were meant to be broken at the right moment, so complete specimens are rare. This one is a large example, and the seal was also large and fine.