Sumerican Clay Tablet Recording Barley Delivery

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Sumerican Clay Tablet Recording Barley Delivery

Artist Unidentified

Dynasty Third Dynasty of Ur (Sumerian, 2112 -2004 BCE)

Place of OriginIraq, Girsu (modern Tello)

Dateabout 2052 BCE

Dimensions2 × 1 9/16 in. (5.1 × 3.9 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1908.89

Not on View

DescriptionSmall rectangular clay tablet with cuneiform inscription, used as an administrative tag. Surface bears Sumerian text documenting grain records.

Label TextThis clay administrative tag, from the Ur III period (ca. 2100–2000 BC), records grain transactions in Sumerian. Excavated at Girsu (modern Tello, Iraq), it is an example of the standardized record-keeping practices of ancient Mesopotamian city-states. Used to manage economic activities, such tags ensured accountability in grain distribution. The inscription includes the term pisan-dub-ba, indicating it was part of a set of official archives.Published ReferencesLangdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca," Babyloniaca: etudes de philologie Assyro-Babylonienne, vol. 7, 1922-1923, pp. 68-70, nr 7.

Nelson, R.C., Pisan-dub-ba texts from the Sumerian Ur III Dynasty, Ph.D., Univerisity of Minnesota, 1976, University Microfilms 76-27, 824, Ann Arbor, 1976, pp. 308-09.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, pp. 18, 29, 33, repr. p. 31. “Babyloniaca 07, 068 7 = 68 8 = 73 7 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). October 8, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104756. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003738 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104756