Ontario 2, 506 (P209784)

Wisdom or proverb tablet excavated in Uncertain (mod. uncertain), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Cite

Photo

Museum Collection(s)

Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Museum Number

ROM 910x209.243

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

uncertain (mod. uncertain)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary > Wisdom or proverb (proverb)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
1. nig2-szu gal2-la-ni
en: All that he has
2. i-bi2-gin7
en: like smoke
3. an-sze3 ba-e3-de3
en: into the sky will evaporate.
reverse
1. nig2-szu gal2-la-ni
en: All that he has
2. i-bi2-gin7
en: like smoke
3. an-sze3 ba-e3-de3
en: into the sky will evaporate.

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Consult word list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Literary > Wisdom or proverb (proverb) School text
Language(s)	Sumerian

Chronology

Period	Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Dates Referenced	00.00.00.00
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P209784
Permalink	https://cdli.network/entity/P209784

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	uncertain (mod. uncertain)
Written In
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Museum Number	ROM 910x209.243
Accession Number	D0775

References

primary: Ontario 2, 506

[Sigrist2004Ontario2] Sigrist, Marcel. 2004. Neo-Sumerian Texts from the Royal Ontario Museum. II: Administrative Texts Mainly from Umma. Bethesda, Maryland: CDL Press.
history: Wisdom of Ancient Sumer, 287

[Alster2005Wisdom] Alster, Bendt. 2005. Wisdom of Ancient Sumer.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Reviewer	Status
2024-08-05 at 10:22:48	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2014-04-02 at 14:38:03	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Veldhuis, Niek	CDLI	Approved
2011-07-22 at 14:38:37	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2006-10-12 at 12:33:01	CDLI	Transliteration	CDLI	CDLI	Approved
2002-07-11 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Alivernini, Sergio; Alster, Bendt; Englund, Robert K.; Molina, Manuel; Reid, Nicholas	CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifacts

“Ontario 2, 506 Artifact Entry.” (2002) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 5, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P209784.

Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry (No. P209784). (2024, August 5). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P209784 (Original work published 2002)

Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P209784 (Accessed: April 25, 2026).

@misc{2024Ontario,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-25]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {aug 5},
	title = {Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P209784},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P209784},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/8/5/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P209784
LB  - CDLI:P209784
M1  - 2026/4/25/
TI  - Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P209784
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“Ontario 2, 506 Artifact Entry.” (2002) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 5, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P209784.

Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry (No. P209784). (2024, August 5). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P209784 (Original work published 2002)

Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P209784 (Accessed: April 25, 2026).

@misc{2024Ontario,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-25]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {aug 5},
	title = {Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P209784},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P209784},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/8/5/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P209784
LB  - CDLI:P209784
M1  - 2026/4/25/
TI  - Ontario 2, 506 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P209784
ER  -