Sumerian Clay Tablet with Sheep Sacrifice for Shamash and Enlil

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Sumerian Clay Tablet with Sheep Sacrifice for Shamash and Enlil

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)

Date2048 BCE

Dimensions1 5/8 × 1 5/16 × 1/2 in. (4.2 × 3.4 × 1.2 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1913.507

Not on View

DescriptionA rectangular clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform script on both sides, recording an administrative account of sacrificial sheep offerings. The text is written in Sumerian and details quantities of animals and their ritual purpose.

Label TextThis clay tablet is an administrative record from the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BC), detailing the sacrifice of sheep for the deities Shamash and Enlil and for temple provisions. It originates from Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq), a central hub for economic transactions in the Neo-Sumerian state. The tablet includes a dated entry from the reign of King Šulgi (Šulgi Year 48), specifying the 25th day of the month of the festival of Dungi.Published References

Langdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca," Babyloniaca, 7, 1922-1923, p. 77, n. 10.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 18, repr. p. 26. “Babyloniaca 07, 077 10 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104768. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003750 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104768