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Sumerian Clay Tablet Documenting Sheep and Goats for the Temple

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Sumerian Clay Tablet Documenting Sheep and Goats for the Temple
Sumerian Clay Tablet Documenting Sheep and Goats for the Temple

Sumerian Clay Tablet Documenting Sheep and Goats for the Temple

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)
Date2050 BCE
Dimensions1 1/4 × 1 1/8 × 9/16 in. (3.1 × 2.8 × 1.5 cm)
MediumClay
ClassificationUtilitarian Objects
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number
1913.510
Not on View
DescriptionA rectangular clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform text on the obverse, reverse, and left edge. The text is neatly arranged in horizontal lines, documenting a livestock transaction in the Sumerian language. The tablet is well-preserved with clear impressions of the wedge-shaped script.
Label TextThis clay tablet is an administrative record from the Ur III period (ca. 2100–2000 BCE), documenting the delivery of sheep and goats to a temple stock-yard. Written in Sumerian cuneiform, it mentions individuals involved in the transaction and references an intercalary month. The text also marks a historical event—the destruction of Simurum and Lulubu for the ninth time. The tablet originates from Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq), a key economic center of the time.Published References

Langdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca," Babyloniaca, 7, 1922-1923, p. 78, n. 13.

Kang, S.T., Sumerian Economic texts from the Drehem Archive, Urbana, 1972, pp. 32-40.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 18, repr. p. 27. “Babyloniaca 07, 078 13 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104771. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003753 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104771

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