AbB 13, 150 (P413253)

Letter tablet excavated in Kish (mod. Tell Uhaimir), 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 103181

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Kish (mod. Tell Uhaimir)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Letter

Language(s)

Akkadian

Measurements

75.0 mm × 55.0 mm × 20.0 mm

Text

tablet
obverse
1. a-na sza-pi2-ri#-ia
 en: To my superior,
2. qi2-bi2#-ma#
 en: speak:
3. um-ma a#?-wi#?-il#?-{d#}?utu#-ma#
 en: thus says Awil-Shamash.
4. {d#}utu# [li-ba-li-it,]-ka#
 en: May Shamash keep you in good health.
  rest of obverse illegible
reverse
  n lines broken
1'. [...] x x x [...]
 en: ...
2'. [sza]-pi2#-ri-[ia?] i#?-ra-asz-szi
 en: [my] superior will acquire / has a claim.
3'. x x x ma#? a#-na# sza#-pi2#-ri#-ia#
 en: ...
4'. asz-tap-ra#-[am]
 en: I wrote to my superior.
5'. 2(disz) gesz [x _apin_]
 en: two plough timbers ...
6'. 4(disz) {gesz}li _apin#?_
 en: four plough boards,
7'. 4(disz) {gesz}_nig2 apin#?_
 en: four plough implements(?),
8'. 2(disz) {gi}me-es-su _apin#_
 en: two plough shares(?),
9'. ki-ma a-mu-ru {disz}an-ka-{d}marduk#? ma-ah-za-am usz-ta#-bi-lam#
  (the edition marks a line break inside a word here [/])
 en: As I saw, I sent Annum-pi-Marduk here.
10'. asz-szum _a-sza3_ uru ki!-kal{ki} ($erased: x$)
 en: Concerning the field of Kikalla,
11'. a-na s,u2-ha-ri-im sza {disz}{d}mar-tu-na-s,ir#
 en: for the servant of Amurru-nasir,
12'. _i7_ a-na sza-qi2(DI)-im u2-ki-il-ma
 en: I held available a canal for irrigation,
13'. u2-ul im-hu-ra-an-ni#
 en: but he did not accept it from me.
14'. um#-ma szu-u2 _a-sza3_-lam a-ka-ar-ra#-ar#?
 en: Thus he said: 'I will dig/cultivate the field.'
15'. e#?-ri-isz a-na _sag-ir3_ ki-a-am aq-bi
 en: I spoke thus to the slave:
16'. um#-ma a-na-ku-ma a-na ka-ra-ri-im
 en: 'For digging/cultivation,
17'. la ta-na-ad-di-in
 en: you must not give permission.'
left
  (OECT 16 line numbers: 18'-19')
1'. [_a]-sza3#_-lam a-na ma-li er#-re#-szu#-[x x] x [...]
 en: A field, as much as I will cultivate, ...
2'. at#-ta-di-in u3 ka-ni-kam# usz-te-zi#-[ib? ...]
 en: I have given, and I have issued a sealed document.

Text content

Genre(s) Letter
Language(s) Akkadian

Chronology

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

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P413253

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions 75.0 mm × 55.0 mm × 20.0 mm
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Kish (mod. Tell Uhaimir)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number BM 103181
Accession Number 1910-10-08, 0109

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
Database of Neo-Sumerian Texts (BDTNS) 172162
Electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) BM.103181
British Museum Collection (BM) W_1910-1008-109
Archives Babyloniennes (ARCHIBAB) 13666

References

  • primary: OECT 16, 130

    [ReidWagensonnerOECT16_2025] Reid, Nicholas, and Klaus Wagensonner. 2025. Letters from Old Babylonian Kish. Edited by Jacob L. Dahl and Heather D. Baker. Vol. 16. Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • primary: AbB 13, 150

    [vanSoldt1994AbB13] Soldt, Wilfred H. van. 1994. Letters in the British Museum, Part 2. Altbabylonische Briefe in Umschrift Und Übersetzung, Heft 13. Leiden: Brill.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2026-10-22 at 14:09:57 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Reid, Nicholas; Wagensonner, Klaus Dahl, Jacob L. Approved View
2026-09-06 at 15:39:19 Vaccari, Stella Artifact metadata Vaccari, Stella Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2023-10-11 at 14:10:37 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Charpin, Dominique; Rattenborg, Rune Archives Babyloniennes Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-08-19 at 13:39:11 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune; Smidt, Gustav Ryberg Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-01-21 at 08:02:28 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Földi, Zsombor J.; Jiménez, Enrique; Pagé-Perron, Émilie Electronic Babylonian Library Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2018-09-22 at 02:49:20 Jagersma, Bram Transliteration Jagersma, Bram CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2010-08-06 at 00:00:00 CDLI, CDLI Artifact metadata Maidman, Maynard P. CDLI, CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“AbB 13, 150 Artifact Entry.” (2010) 2026. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 7, 2026. https://cdli.earth/P413253.
AbB 13, 150 artifact entry (No. P413253). (2026, September 7). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P413253 (Original work published 2010)
AbB 13, 150 artifact entry (2026) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P413253 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).
@misc{2026AbB,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2026},
	month = {sep 7},
	title = {AbB 13, 150 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P413253},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P413253},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2026/9/7/
PY  - 2026
ID  - P413253
LB  - CDLI:P413253
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - AbB 13, 150 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P413253
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“AbB 13, 150 Artifact Entry.” (2010) 2026. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 7, 2026. https://cdli.earth/P413253.
AbB 13, 150 artifact entry (No. P413253). (2026, September 7). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P413253 (Original work published 2010)
AbB 13, 150 artifact entry (2026) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P413253 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).
@misc{2026AbB,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2026},
	month = {sep 7},
	title = {AbB 13, 150 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P413253},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P413253},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2026/9/7/
PY  - 2026
ID  - P413253
LB  - CDLI:P413253
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - AbB 13, 150 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P413253
ER  -
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