CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 (P346681)

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 5.05.04 Song of Hoe ('Decad no. 03') (witness))

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
  broken
reverse
  beginning broken
column 1'
  beginning broken
1'. {gesz}al#-e u3#? ix(|A.SUG|)-da#? [...]
 en: The hoe is the kingal official on/in the u land(?) of the river
2'. dagx(KA2) ki agrun-na-ka {gesz}[...]
 en: At the chamber/door(?) of the site(?) of the agrun chamber, the hoe is the vizier
3'. hul-gal2 u4-nu2-a dumu {gesz#}[...]
 en: Evildoers are children of the hoe during the waning moon(?)
4'. u4 sa2# du11-ga-ta-a an-sze3#? [...]
 en: By means of/in(?) the regular day(?) they are born towards(!?) heaven(?)
5'. an-sze3# al-ti#-ri2#-ki#?{muszen#} muszen# dingir#-[...]
 en: Towards heaven the altirigu bird is the bird of a god
6'. [...] gesz#-gi-a ur#-[...] uszumgal-am3#
 en: Towards the earth it is the hoe, in the reedbed it is a dog, in the thicket it is an ušumgal creature
7'. [...]-lu#?-am3
 en: At the site of battle it is a durallu ax
8'. [...]-lu-hab2-am3
 en: At the site of the fortification, it is an alluhab net(?)
  rest broken

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 5.05.04 Song of Hoe ('Decad no. 03') (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 000778 (Song of Hoe) composite (P478966) Q000778 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346681

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) 5.5.4
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 5.5.4
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346681

References

  • history: UET 6, 0644

    [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
2019-06-12 at 09:24:03 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 000778, Ex. 045 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346681.
CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry (No. P346681). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346681 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346681 (Accessed: October 14, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-14]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346681},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346681},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346681
LB  - CDLI:P346681
M1  - 2026/10/14/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346681
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000778, Ex. 045 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346681.
CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry (No. P346681). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346681 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346681 (Accessed: October 14, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-14]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346681},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346681},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346681
LB  - CDLI:P346681
M1  - 2026/10/14/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000778, ex. 045 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346681
ER  -
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