UET 6, 0304 (P254883)

Wisdom or proverb tablet excavated in Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

Cite

Photo

Lineart

Museum Collection(s)

British Museum, London, UK

Museum Number

BM —

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary > Wisdom or proverb (mathematical calc., proverb)

Language(s)

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
blank space
1. ki dingir ab#?-si-a a-ba-a szu gul#-la
en: Who (could be) the destroyer(?) of the place that a god occupies(?)
2. gul dingir-ra na4-a gar-ra
en: The ... of a god is placed in stone/a stone bead
blank space
reverse
blank space

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Consult word list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Literary > Wisdom or proverb (mathematical calc., proverb) School text
Language(s)

Chronology

Period	Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P254883
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P254883

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number	U 17207.094
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number	BM —
Accession Number

References

primary: UET 6, 0304

[Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril John, and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.
history: Alster Proverbs, 317

[Alster1997Proverbs] Alster, Bendt. 1997. Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World’s Earliest Proverb Collection.
history: OECT 14, fig. A.5.41

[Robson1999OECT14] Robson, Eleanor. 1999. Mesopotamian Mathematics, 2100-1600 BC. Technical Constants in Bureaucracy and Education. Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts, Vol. 14. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Reviewer	Status
2024-09-02 at 08:45:16	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:32:18	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:29:31	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2019-06-01 at 09:13:37	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2019-05-29 at 21:02:01	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Peterson, Jeremiah	CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2005-02-01 at 00:00:00	CDLI, CDLI	Artifact metadata	Friberg, Jöran; Guerra, Dylan; Middeke-Conlin, Robert; Peterson, Jeremiah	CDLI, CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“UET 6, 0304 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254883.

UET 6, 0304 artifact entry (No. P254883). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254883 (Original work published 2005)

UET 6, 0304 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254883 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0304 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254883},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254883},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254883
LB  - CDLI:P254883
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - UET 6, 0304 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254883
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“UET 6, 0304 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254883.

UET 6, 0304 artifact entry (No. P254883). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254883 (Original work published 2005)

UET 6, 0304 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254883 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0304 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254883},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254883},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254883
LB  - CDLI:P254883
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - UET 6, 0304 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254883
ER  -