CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 (P346554)

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 2.02.05 Lament for Uruk (witness) Lamentation over Uruk)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
column 1
  beginning broken
1'. dim2#-ma-bi szu# [...]
 en: Who changed its discernment, who altered its intelligence?
2'. udug sa6-ga-bi [...]
 en: Who struck its good udug protective spirit? Who beat its lamma protective spirit?
3'. ni2 me-lam2 sag-ga2 gal2-la#-[...]
 en: Who ruined the aura and radiance that had been on (its) head?
4'. unu{ki}-ga tesz2-bi a-ba#-[...]
 en: Who ... the dignity(?) of Uruk, who ... the nugig midwife(?)
5'. iri-da kur-kur-[...]
 en: Along with the city the foreign lands ..., in Uruk who ... in its temple?
6'. e-ne# [...]
 en: ...
  rest broken
reverse
  beginning broken
column 1'
  beginning broken
1'. x [...]
 en: ...
2'. sza3 {tu15}[...] a#? [...]
 en: With the midst/heart of a storm(?) ...
3'. erin2 sag-gin7 mu-un#-[...] AN# [...]
 en: Like elite troops they plundered (all of(?) ...), ...
4'. kaskal munu4-gin7 mu-un#-[...] AN# [...]
 en: They crushed the road like malt, the one apart from them(?) like a god/An? ...
5'. me3 zu-ba szu-ba E bi2#-[...]
 en: They made the battle veterans “fall into their hand"(!?), they ... their tactics/intellect/mood(?)
6'. sag erin2-na lu2-ta e3#-[...] x [...]
 en: The elite of the troops, who emerged (separate) from the (average) man(?) ...
7'. gu-ti-um{ki} UR# x x e-NE [...]
 en: Gutium ..., the weapon ...
8'. igi-[...]
 en: Not even looking with both of their eyes(?), ...
  rest broken

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 2.02.05 Lament for Uruk (witness) Lamentation over Uruk)
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 000382 (Lament for Uruk) composite (P469684) Q000382 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346554

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) 2.2.5
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 2.2.5
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346554

References

  • history: UET 6, 0516, 2006

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

  • history: JAOS 104 (pp. 253-279), 255

    [Green1984JAOS104] Green, Margaret W. 1984. “The Uruk Lament.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 104: 253–79. https://www.jstor.org/stable/602171.

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
2019-06-11 at 11:02:16 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 000382, Ex. 022 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346554.
CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry (No. P346554). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346554 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346554 (Accessed: October 17, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-17]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346554},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346554},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346554
LB  - CDLI:P346554
M1  - 2026/10/17/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346554
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000382, Ex. 022 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346554.
CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry (No. P346554). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346554 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346554 (Accessed: October 17, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-17]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346554},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346554},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346554
LB  - CDLI:P346554
M1  - 2026/10/17/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000382, ex. 022 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346554
ER  -
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