Cuneiform Tablet, 2030 BCE
Terracotta
2.5 x 4.75
LSO.101A
Sumerian cuneiform is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. First appearing in the 4th millennium BC in what is now Iraq, it was dubbed cuneiform (‘wedge-shaped’) because...
Sumerian cuneiform is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. First appearing in the 4th millennium BC in what is now Iraq, it was dubbed cuneiform (‘wedge-shaped’) because of the distinctive wedge form of the letters, created by pressing a reed stylus into wet clay. Early Sumerian writings were essentially pictograms, which became simplified in the early and mid 3rd millennium BC to a series of strokes, along with a commensurate reduction in the number of discrete signs used (from c.1500 to 600). The script system had a very long life, and was used by the Sumerians as well as numerous later groups – notably the Assyrians, Elamites, Akkadians and Hittites – for around three thousand years. Certain signs and phonetic standards live on in modern languages of the Middle and Far East, but the writing system is essentially extinct. It was therefore cause for great excitement when the ‘code’ of ancient cuneiform was cracked by a group of English, French and German Assyriologists and philologists in the mid 19th century AD. This opened up a vital source of information about these ancient groups that could not have been obtained in any other way.
Cuneiform was used on monuments dedicated to heroic – and usually royal – individuals, but perhaps it’s most important function was that of record keeping. The palace-based society at Ur and other large urban centres was accompanied by a remarkably complex and multifaceted bureaucracy, which was run by professional administrators and a priestly class, all of whom were answerable to central court control. Most of what we know about the way the culture was run and administered comes from cuneiform tablets, which record the everyday running of the temple and palace complexes in minute detail, as in the present case. The Barakat Gallery has secured the services of Professor Lambert (University of Birmingham), a renowned expert in decipherment and translation of cuneiform, to examine and process the information on these tablets. His analysis is presented below. Clay Tablet (126 x 59 mm), 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 Shu-Sin, fourth king of the dynasty, c, 2038-2029 BC. 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 and 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) kin 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 Tidmum at bay”
149 gur, 180 sila: Year after Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidmum 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-see Deficit (?): 2 gu [In charge]: Mr Nabi-Shulg
The background of this text is the following. Much farmland at this time was owned by temples or the king, 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 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.
Cuneiform was used on monuments dedicated to heroic – and usually royal – individuals, but perhaps it’s most important function was that of record keeping. The palace-based society at Ur and other large urban centres was accompanied by a remarkably complex and multifaceted bureaucracy, which was run by professional administrators and a priestly class, all of whom were answerable to central court control. Most of what we know about the way the culture was run and administered comes from cuneiform tablets, which record the everyday running of the temple and palace complexes in minute detail, as in the present case. The Barakat Gallery has secured the services of Professor Lambert (University of Birmingham), a renowned expert in decipherment and translation of cuneiform, to examine and process the information on these tablets. His analysis is presented below. Clay Tablet (126 x 59 mm), 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 Shu-Sin, fourth king of the dynasty, c, 2038-2029 BC. 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 and 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) kin 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 Tidmum at bay”
149 gur, 180 sila: Year after Shu-Sin, king of Ur, built the west wall “That which keeps the Tidmum 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-see Deficit (?): 2 gu [In charge]: Mr Nabi-Shulg
The background of this text is the following. Much farmland at this time was owned by temples or the king, 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 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.