Sumerian Clay Tablet in its Sealed Envelope

Place of OriginIraq, Umma (modern Tell Jokha)

Date2047 BCE

DimensionsCase: 1 15/16 × 2 5/16 × 1 5/16 in. (4.9 × 5.9 × 3.3 cm)
Tablet: 1 1/4 × 1 1/8 × 9/16 in. (3.1 × 2.9 × 1.5 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Object number

1916.64A-B

Not on View

DescriptionRectangular cuneiform tablet with accompanying envelope. Inscribed in Sumerian script on both surfaces. Seal impressions visible on envelope.

Label TextThis clay tablet, dating to the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BCE), records a grain delivery in the city of Umma, a major administrative center of ancient Mesopotamia. Written in Sumerian, it details the transaction and includes a seal impression from the scribe Sibe, son of Lugal-gaba(?). The accompanying clay envelope preserves the official documentation. Administrative tablets like this one were essential for record-keeping in the centralized economy of the Ur III dynasty.Published ReferencesLangdon, Stephen H., “The Toledo Collection of Cuneiform Tablets,” American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 34, no. 2, 1918, p. 124, no. 28.

Van De Mieroop, Marc, and Tremper Longman, “Cuneiform Tablets from the Toledo Museum of Art,” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, vol. 79, 1985, p. 32, no. 26.

“RA 079, 032 26 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 21, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P128048. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=028726 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P128048