BM 040568 (P480838)

Prayer tablet excavated in Babylon (mod. Bābil), dated to the Achaemenid (547-331 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

Cite

Museum Collection(s)

British Museum, London, UK

Museum Number

BM 040568

Period

Achaemenid (547-331 BC)

Provenience

Babylon (mod. Bābil)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Ritual and liturgical > Prayer

Language(s)

Akkadian, Sumerian

Measurements

Text content

Genre(s)	Ritual and liturgical > Prayer
Language(s)	Akkadian, Sumerian

Chronology

Period	Achaemenid (547-331 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P480838
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P480838

Physical information

Single-column

Artifact type	Tablet Single-column
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Babylon (mod. Bābil) [uncertain]
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number	BM 040568
Accession Number	1881-04-28, 0110

External resources

External Resource	Identifiers
Electronic Babylonian Library (eBL)	BM.40568
Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals (CMAwRo)	Q005063
British Museum Collection (BM)	W_1881-0428-110

References

history: AfO 42–43, 247

[Geller1995/96AfO42/43] Geller, Markham J. 1995/96. “Reviewed Work: Uruk. Spätbabylonische Texte Aus Dem Planquadrat U 18. Teil IV. (= AUWE 12) by E. von Weiher.” Archiv Für Orientforschung 42–43: 245–48.
history: OrNS 78 (pp. 44-68), 059

[Schwemer2009OrNS78] Schwemer, Daniel. 2009. “Washing, Defiling, and Burning: Two Bilingual Anti-Witchcraft Incantations.” Orientalia NS 78: 44–68.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Project	Reviewer	Status
2025-05-19 at 18:43:18	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2025-04-13 at 11:27:05	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-08-18 at 14:07:52	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2023-08-19 at 13:19:51	Rattenborg, Rune	Artifact metadata	Rattenborg, Rune; Smidt, Gustav Ryberg	Geomapping Landscapes of Writing	Rattenborg, Rune	Approved
2023-07-05 at 14:39:36	Rattenborg, Rune	Artifact metadata	Rattenborg, Rune	Geomapping Landscapes of Writing	Rattenborg, Rune	Approved
2023-01-20 at 12:10:25	Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Artifact metadata	Földi, Zsombor J.; Jiménez, Enrique; Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Electronic Babylonian Library	Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Approved
2015-06-18 at 00:00:00	CDLI, CDLI	Artifact metadata	CDLI, CDLI	Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals	CDLI, CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“BM 040568 Artifact Entry.” (2015) 2025. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). May 19, 2025. https://cdli.earth/P480838.

BM 040568 artifact entry (No. P480838). (2025, May 19). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P480838 (Original work published 2015)

BM 040568 artifact entry (2025) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P480838 (Accessed: October 27, 2026).

@misc{2025BM,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-27]},
	year = {2025},
	month = {may 19},
	title = {BM 040568 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P480838},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P480838},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2025/5/19/
PY  - 2025
ID  - P480838
LB  - CDLI:P480838
M1  - 2026/10/27/
TI  - BM 040568 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P480838
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“BM 040568 Artifact Entry.” (2015) 2025. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). May 19, 2025. https://cdli.earth/P480838.

BM 040568 artifact entry (No. P480838). (2025, May 19). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P480838 (Original work published 2015)

BM 040568 artifact entry (2025) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P480838 (Accessed: October 27, 2026).

@misc{2025BM,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-27]},
	year = {2025},
	month = {may 19},
	title = {BM 040568 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P480838},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P480838},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2025/5/19/
PY  - 2025
ID  - P480838
LB  - CDLI:P480838
M1  - 2026/10/27/
TI  - BM 040568 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P480838
ER  -