CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 (P346322)

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

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 (ETCSL 6.01.02 Proverbs Collection 02 (witness) Proverbs Collection 6)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Text

tablet
obverse
  blank space
1. ir7-sag{muszen} ugu-bi
2. {gesz}kiri6 me-te-bi
 en: The top of the head/voice? of the irsag pigeon (is) the ornament of the orchard
3. dar{muszen} ugu-bi
4. a-sza3-ga me-te-bi
 en: The top of the head of the francolin (is) the ornament of the field
5. bi2-za-za ugu-bi
6. pu2-bi me-te-bi
 en: The top of the head of the frog (is) the ornament of its (the field or orchard's) pond(?)
  blank space
reverse
  blank space

Text content

Genre(s) Literary > Wisdom or proverb (ETCSL 6.01.02 Proverbs Collection 02 (witness) Proverbs Collection 6) School text
Language(s) Sumerian

Chronology

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

Record

Permalink https://cdli.network/entity/P346322

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Excavation Number U 17207.014
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) 6.1.2
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 6.1.2
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346322

References

  • history: Alster Proverbs, 144

    [Alster1997Proverbs] Alster, Bendt. 1997. Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World’s Earliest Proverb Collection.

  • history: UET 6, 0244

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

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-09-02 at 08:45:16 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-09-02 at 07:32:18 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-09-02 at 07:29:31 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
2019-05-29 at 21:01:59 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI Approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact metadata Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000796, Ex. 086 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346322.
CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry (No. P346322). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346322 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346322 (Accessed: April 19, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-19]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346322},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346322},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346322
LB  - CDLI:P346322
M1  - 2026/4/19/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346322
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000796, Ex. 086 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346322.
CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry (No. P346322). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346322 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346322 (Accessed: April 19, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-19]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346322},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346322},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346322
LB  - CDLI:P346322
M1  - 2026/4/19/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 086 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346322
ER  -
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