Sumerican Clay Tablet Recording Offerings to Enlil

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Images(2)

Sumerican Clay Tablet Recording Offerings to Enlil

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)

Date2041 BCE

Dimensions3 1/4 × 1 3/4 × 7/8 in. (8.3 × 4.5 × 2.3 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1913.501

Not on View

DescriptionA rectangular clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform script on both sides, listing livestock offerings for temple sacrifices. The text is in Sumerian and records allocations of sheep and goats to deities, including Enlil and the deified King Dungi.

Label TextThis cuneiform tablet, inscribed in Sumerian, is an administrative record from the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BCE). It details the allocation of sheep and goats for temple sacrifices, specifying offerings made to Enlil, the deified king Dungi, and other deities. The text highlights the centralized economic and religious system of Mesopotamian temples, where livestock was managed and distributed from state-run centers such as Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq). Dated to the fifth year of King Amar-Suen (Amar-Sin), the tablet provides insights into the administrative complexities of the Ur III state, temple economy, and the role of the king in religious ceremonies. Such tablets were essential for tracking temple supplies and royal offerings.Published References

Langdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca" in Babyloniaca: etudes de philologie Assyro-Babylonienne, 7, 1922-1923, p. 75, no. 56.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 18, repr. p. 22. “Babyloniaca 07, 075 05 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104763. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003745 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104763 Sallaberger, Walther, Der kultische Kalender der Ur III-Zeit, Berlin, De Gruyter, 1993, p. 157, no. T2.