CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 (P346210)

Literary 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

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 (ETCSL 2.02.03 Lament for Sumer and Ur (witness))

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
1. [...] gesz-hur ha-lam-me-[de3]
 en: In order to overturn the day, in order to destroy the plans
2. [...] tesz2#-bi i3-gu7-e#?
 en: The storm ravages like a stormwind
3. [...]-gi#-ra# szu bala ak-de3
 en: In order to overturn the me of Sumer
4. [...] sa6#-ga e2-ba gi4-gi4-de3
 en: In order to confine the good reign in its house
5. [...] gul#-gul-lu-de3 e2 gul-gul-lu#-de3
 en: In order to destroy the city, in order to destroy the temple
6. [...] gul-gul-lu-de3 amasz tab-tab#-[be2]-de3
 en: In order to destroy the cattlepen, in order to flatten the sheepfold
7. [gu4]-bi# tur3-bi-a nu-gub-bu-de3
 en: So that the ox does not does not stand in its cattlepen
8. [udu]-bi# amasz-a nu-dagal-e-de3
 en: So that the sheep does not expand (in number?) in the sheepfold
9. [i7]-de3 a mun4-na tum2-mu-de3#
 en: So that the canal irrigates with (only) brackish water
10. [...] zi-de3 {u2}hirim mu2-mu2-de3#
 en: So that hirin grass grows in the fertile field
11. [...] u2 a-nir mu2-mu2#-[de3]
 en: So that the “lamentation plant” grows in the plain
12. [...]-ni#-ir ki# nu#-[...]
 en: So that the mother does not seek the whereabouts of her child
reverse
  beginning broken
1'. [...] x [...]
 en: ...
2'. [...] ki#-tusz-ba bi2#-in#-hu#-luh# ug3#-[...]
 en: An terrified within the dwelling of Sumer, the people were frightened
3'. [...] u4# gig-ga mu-un-zal iri{ki}-a# [...]
 en: Enlil made a painful day elapse, silence befell the city
4'. [...] ama5 kalam-ma-ka {gesz}ig-szu-ur2# [...]
 en: Nintur set (open?) the bolt (in the street) at the women's quarters of the land
5'. [...] {i7#}idigna {i7}buranun-na a# [...]
 en: Enki bound up the water away from the Tigris and Euphrates
  blank space
6'. [... im]-gid2-da 1(disz)-kam-ma
 en: ... 1st "long-tablet" (in a series)

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 2.02.03 Lament for Sumer and Ur (witness))
Language(s) Sumerian

Chronology

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

Composites

This artifact is a witness to the following composite(s):

Composite Composite Number Score
CDLI Literary 000380 (Lament for Sumer and Ur) composite (P469682) Q000380 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346210

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

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

Collections

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

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature transliterations (ETCSL transliterations) 2.2.3
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 2.2.3
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346210

References

  • history: UET 6, 0125

    [Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril John, and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.

  • history: LSU, p.32

    [Michalowski1989LamentationSumer] Michalowski, Piotr. 1989. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur. Vol. 1. Mesopotamian Civilizations. Winona Lake, Ind : Eisenbrauns.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-07-19 at 13:59:15 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-07-12 at 18:14:13 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-11 at 10:22:02 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI, CDLI Artifact metadata Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI, CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000380, Ex. 016 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 19, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346210.
CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry (No. P346210). (2024, July 19). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346210 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346210 (Accessed: October 20, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-20]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 19},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346210},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346210},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/19/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346210
LB  - CDLI:P346210
M1  - 2026/10/20/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346210
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000380, Ex. 016 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 19, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346210.
CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry (No. P346210). (2024, July 19). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346210 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346210 (Accessed: October 20, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-20]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 19},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346210},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346210},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/19/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346210
LB  - CDLI:P346210
M1  - 2026/10/20/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000380, ex. 016 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346210
ER  -
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