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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1938.94
Title
Cuneiform Tablet: Ur III Administrative Text
Classification
Tablets
Work Type
tablet
Date
c. 2028-2004 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Sumer (Mesopotamia)
Period
Neo-Sumerian period, Third Dynasty of Ur
Culture
Neo-Sumerian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/292034

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Clay
Technique
Impressed
Dimensions
4.6 x 4.3 x 1.6 cm (1 13/16 x 1 11/16 x 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Catharine W. Pierce, Cambridge, MA; gift to Fogg Art Museum, 1938.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
CDLI P393093

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Catharine W. Pierce
Accession Year
1938
Object Number
1938.94
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Small square shaped clay tablet with cuneiform writing. The tablet is inscribed on obverse and reverse with text written in Sumerian language. There are seal impressions over the text on both sides. The text is a typical administrative document from the Ur III dynasty and it records the receipt of reed bundles for animal fodder. The inscription on the seal indicates that its owner was Alulu, the same official receiving the reeds in the text.The tablet is dated to 9th month of the first year of the reign of Ibbi-Suen (c. 2028-2004 B.C.E.) and probably comes from Umma (?).

Text reads:
1(geš2) 3(u) sa gi zi / gu-kilib-ba 5 sa-ta / šag4-gal udu niga sa2-dug4 / ki Ur-e2-mah-ta / kišib A-lu5-lu5 / iti {d}Li9-si4 / mu {d}I-bi2-{d}Suen lugal

Seal impression: A-lu5-lu5 / dumu Inim-{d}Šara2 / kurušda {d}Šara2-ka

90 bundles of fresh reeds / in each bale are 5 bundles / fodder for the fattened sheep, the regular offerings / (received) from Ur-Emah / Seal of Alulu; month of Lisi, the year Ibbi-Suen (became) king.

Seal impression: Alulu / son of Inim-Šara / animal fattener of the god Šara

Publication History

  • Deena Ragavan, “Cuneiform Texts and Fragments in the Harvard Art Museum / Arthur M. Sackler Museum”, Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (2010), no. 4.3

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu