CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 (P346502)

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 1.04.03 Dumuzi’s Dream (witness) Dumuzi's Dream)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Has fragments Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
column 1
  beginning broken
1'. [...] ug5#-ge#-[...]
 en: If ... has not known the time I will die
2'. [...] ama#-gu10-gin7# [...]
 en: Plain, you would know the (appropriate word) and speak(it) like my mother (would)
3'. nin9# banda3#{+da#}-gu10-gin7# [...]
 en: So that ... would weep for me like my little sister
4'. ul u4 ba-nu2# x ul-e ba-nu2# [...]
 en: He laid down in that distant time(?), he laid down in that distant time(?), the shepherd(!?) laid down in that distant time(?)
5'. sipa ul-e# ba-nu2-gin7# [...]
 en: When(?) the shepherd laid down in that distant time(?), he laid down in order to dream/in a dream(?)
6'. i#-im-zi ma-mu2-da i-im#-[...]
 en: He arose, it was a dream, he shivered, it was deep sleep
7'. [...]-ni szu bi2-in-kinx(UR4) nig2-me-gar# [...]
 en: He sought his face with his hands, (his) silent stupor was (causing a feeling of) empt(iness)(?)
8'. tum2#-mu-un-ze2-en tum2-mu-un#-[ze2-en] nin9-gu10 tum2-mu-un#-[...]
 en: Bring her, bring her, bring my sister
9'. [{d}]gesztin#-an-na-gu10# tum2-mu-un-ze2-[en] nin9#-gu10 tum2-mu-un-[...]
 en: Bring my Geštinanna, bring my sister
10'. [...] x en3#?-du zu-gu10 tum2-mu-un-ze2#-[en] nin9#-gu10 tum2-mu-un-ze2#-[en]
 en: Bring my singer who knows endu songs(?), bring my sister
11'. [... en3]-du zu-gu10 tum2-mu-un-ze2#-[en ...] tum2-mu-un#-[ze2-en]
 en: Bring my singer who knows endu songs, bring my sister
  n lines broken
12'. [ma]-mu2# [...]
 en: So that I may reveal the dream for her
13'. ma-mu2-da nin9-[...]
 en: In the dream, my sister, in the dream, (these are) the contents of my dream
14'. {u2}numun2 ma-ra-zi#-[...]
 en: Rushes were rising for me, rushes were growing for me
15'. gi dili du3-e sag [...]
 en: A reed planted alone was shaking its head at me
16'. gi didli du3-e dili ma-x-[...]
 en: Several reeds planted (together) split apart for me
17'. {gesz}tir-ra gesz an-gin7# ni2#-[...]
 en: In the forest, a tree has raised itself for me (as high) as heaven
18'. ne-mur ku3-gu10 a mu-da-an#-[...]
 en: ... poured water among my pure coals
19'. {dug#}szakir3 ku3-gu10 du5-bi ba-ra#-[...]
 en: ... opened/removed(?)/broke to bits the chamber(?) of my pure churn
20'. {gesz}an-za-am# ku3-gu10 {gesz}gag-[...] {gesz}gag-ta ba-ra#-[...]
 en: My holy anzam vessel, which had been hanging from a peg, was torn off from the peg
21'. {gesz}ma-nu-gu10 u2-gu mu-da#-[...]
 en: ... made my (stick of) manu wood disappear
22'. {d}nin-SIG7-AMA{muszen}-ta-e ga2-udu-[...] sila4 szu ba-ni-ib-ti-[...]
 en: A ninninata bird of prey took a lamb at the sheep hut
23'. [...]-du3#{muszen}-e {gi}dub-ba-an-na-ka# buru5#{muszen} szu ba-ni-ib-ti-[...]
 en: A falcon took a small bird at the reed fence
24'. [...] i3-dur2-dur2 ga# nu-un-[...]
 en: Churns were sitting idle, one no longer poured milk (from them)
25'. [{gesz}an-za]-am# i3-dur2-dur2 {d#}dumu#-zi# [nu]-ti#-[...] amasz lil2#-[...]
 en: The anzam containers were sitting idle, Dumuzid was no longer dwelling there/alive(?), the sheepfold had been made into an empty wind
26'. [...]-da-gu10 [...] sahar#-ra ma#-[...]
 en: My goat buck was swishing its lapis beard in the dirt
27'. [...]-gu10# a2# [...]
 en: My ram was scratching the ground with their thick/curved(?) horns
  rest broken
reverse
  broken

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 1.04.03 Dumuzi’s Dream (witness) Dumuzi's Dream)
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 000347 (Dumuzi's Dream) composite (P469528) Q000347 View the score

Record

join noted by Shaffer UET 6/3, 012join noted by Shaffer UET 6/3, 012

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346502

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation Fragmented

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) 1.4.3
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 1.4.3
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346502

References

  • history: Alster, Dumuzi, Dumuzi 045 H + M

    [Alster1972Dumuzi] Alster, Bendt. 1972. Dumuzi’s Dream. Aspects of Oral Poetry in a Sumerian Myth. Mesopotamia 1. Copenhagen : Akademisk Forlag, D.B.K.

  • history: UET 6, 0464 + 0465

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

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-09 at 21:09:00 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2019-06-01 at 14:34:08 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:59 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Peterson, Jeremiah 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 000347, Ex. 070 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346502.
CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry (No. P346502). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346502 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346502 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346502},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346502},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346502
LB  - CDLI:P346502
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346502
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000347, Ex. 070 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346502.
CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry (No. P346502). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346502 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346502 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346502},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346502},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346502
LB  - CDLI:P346502
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000347, ex. 070 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346502
ER  -
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