Ur III Period Cuneiform Tablet

Title

Ur III Period Cuneiform Tablet

Subject

Clay Tablet

Description

This tablet dates to the Ur III period (c. 2100-2000), year 6 of the reign of king Amar-Sîn, and probably comes from Puzrish-Dagan (Drehem). It is inscribed on both sides with the cuneiform script, which has been used to render Sumerian. The tablet itself is a receipt for the delivery of livestock and mentions the names of two men, Abbashaga and Intaea. These two men were state officials working at Drehem. Abbashaga appears in texts for the first time as a transfer agent in the accession year of Amar-Sin. Intaea appears in the third year of Amar-Sin as an administrative official responsible for a livestock corral.

Transliteration

1. x – sila4
2. 1 máš
3. ud-30-kam
4. ki ab-ba-ša6-ga-ta
5. in-ta-è-a
6. ì-dab5
7. iti ezen-mah
8. mu ša-aš-ruki ba-hul

Translation

1. 3 (?) lambs
2. 1 goat
3. On the 30th day
4. From Abbašaga,
5. Intaea
6. Received it
7. Month of the Great Festival
8. Year (in which) the city of Shashrum was destroyed

Translation and Transcription by Nicholas Kraus

Creator

From Stone to Screen

Source

Iraq

Publisher

From Stone to Screen

Date

Ur III Period

Contributor

David Assaf (Web Design)
Jessica Matteazzi (Photography)
Chelsea Gardner (Collection Curator)
Nicholas Kraus (Content - Translation & Transcription)
Lisa Cooper (Content - Translation & Transcription)
Leslie Field (Scanning/Imaging)
Lisa Tweten (Scanning/Imaging)

Rights

UBC CNERS

Relation

For other examples of cuneiform tablets found in the same area and dated to the same period, check out the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative at UCLA. They have 3 tablets from the region in their digital library that are housed at Charles University in Prague.

Further reading on the activities of the two men mentioned in the tablet and the site of Drehem:

Sigrist, M. 1992, Drehem, Bethseda: CDL Press. (French)

Further reading:
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago published the 499 tablets in their collection in 1998, and can be downloaded from their website.

Lluís Feliu and Adelina Millet published a paper titled “An Ur III Tablet from Drehem and Three Clay Cones of Lipit-Estar” in Aula Orientalis; the issue can be downloaded here:

http://www.aulaorientalis.org/aulaorientalis_xxii_1_2004.html

Format

Cuneiform Clay Tablet
3 cm x 2.5 cm x 1.5 cm

Language

Cuneiform - Sumerian

Type

Cuneiform Tablet Account

Identifier

Ur III Period Cuneiform Tablet

Coverage

Prehistory; Mesopotamia; Ur; Near Eastern Languages

Original Format

Clay Tablet

Physical Dimensions

3 cm x 2.5 cm x 1.5 cm

Files

IMG_5019.jpg
CNERS Figure 3.jpg
tablet_002_ed_2_1_.jpg
Screen Shot 2015-02-05 at 9.00.44 PM.png

Citation

From Stone to Screen, “Ur III Period Cuneiform Tablet,” UBC CNERS Artifact Collections, accessed March 28, 2024, https://cnerscollections.omeka.net/items/show/129.