BiMes 03, 26 (P221796)

Literary tablet excavated in Lagash (mod. El-Hiba), dated to the ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC) period and now kept in National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

Cite

Lineart

Museum Collection(s)

National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

Museum Number

IM—

Period

ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)

Provenience

Lagash (mod. El-Hiba)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary (riddles riddles concerning cities)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

Text

tablet
column 1
1. i7-bi NINA-du
2. dingir-bi {d}nansze nin uru16
3. ku6#-bi lu2:u18 gu7-gu7
4. musz#-bi [x] x
5. [i7-bi] AN [...]
6. [dingir-bi ...] x [x]
7. ku6-bi x musz#-bi bar GAM#-GAM#
8. i7-bi en a ME#? dingir-bi {d}hendur-sag# gal-nimgir abzu
9. [ku6]-bi musz{ku6} musz#-bi si mu2
10. [i7-bi] x x [...]
column 2
1. [dingir-bi {d}]nin#-nu-nir
2. ku6-bi sag x x
3. musz-bi TAR-luh
4. i7-bi en libisz-sze3#? nu-DU
5. dingir-bi {d}nin-guru7 nu nunuz u2 gal
6. ku6-bi MUNUS-MUNUS
7. musz-bi su3-a
8. i7-bi pa5 {d}samanx(|SZE.NUN.SZE3.BU|) kas4
9. dingir-bi {d}nin-gir2-su ur-sag gal en-lil2-la2
10. ku6-bi MUNUS [x] musz#-bi# x [x x]
rest of column missing
column 3
1. lugal-ne AN-ta#?
2. ku6-bi x gid2 musz-bi musz gur8
3. i7-bi e3 pirig
4. dingir-bi ama-tu-da umma{ki} {d}nin-ur4
5. ku6-bi ur4 musz-bi pirig dar
6. i7-bi |LAGABxMUSZ@90| dingir-bi {d}|LAGABxGAL| EN DI ba
7. ku6-bi MUN musz-bi a-sza3 tur3
8. i7-bi DU zabala5{ki}
rest of column missing
column 4
1. [musz-bi a?]-sza3 tur3
2. i7-bi en gir2 gal
3. dingir-bi igi zi gal an-na
4. {d}nin-girimx(A.BU.HA.DU)
5. ku6-bi esztub{ku6}
6. musz-bi musz ki e2?
7. i7-bi en zalag gal
8. dingir-bi pisan sanga unu{ki} ensi2 gal {d}inanna
9. ku6-bi a-dar-tun2 musz-bi KA gesztin
10. i7-bi [x x]
rest of column missing
column 5
1. ku6-bi KA# sur musz-bi musz an
2. i7-bi {d}lamma igi-bar
3. dingir-bi {d}lamma-sza6-ga
4. u8 ganun tur nun
5. ku6-bi nig2-sag-la2
6. musz-bi musz tag
7. i7-bi i7 dumu lu2
8. dingir-bi en {d}x [x x]
rest of column missing
column 6
1. [i7-bi] ma2-gin2 UD x
2. dingir-bi {d}nansze#? {d}nin-dub#?
3. ku6-bi gug2 musz-bi x
4. i7-bi an-ne2 pa3-da
5. dingir-bi lugal e2-a la2 x
6. ku6-bi# [x] musz#-[bi] x [x]
rest of column missing
reverse
column 1
n lines missing
1. dingir-bi [{d}ig]-alim
2. ku6-bi# [x x]
rest of column missing
column 2
n lines missing
1. ku6-bi# suhur musz#-bi musz a
2. i7-bi i7 nun
3. dingir-bi# [x x]
n lines missing
1. i7# EN [...]
column 3
n lines missing
1. musz-bi musz kas4
2. i7-bi NINA gar
3. dingir-bi {d}nin-gublaga
4. ku6-bi gir2
5. musz-bi [x] x [x x]
6. i7-bi x x bi
7. dingir-bi {d}iszkur# amar# banda3#{da}
8. [ku6-bi] x [musz]-bi x
rest of column missing
column 4
n lines missing
1. ku6-bi sumasz musz-bi musz dagal
2. i7-bi masz ti HAR
3. dingir-bi {d}pa-bil3-sag ur-sag {d}en-lil2-la2
4. ku6-bi du3 musz-bi KU
5. i7-bi x ra GAN# NE#
6. dingir-bi {d}nin-tu nin-an-ki
7. ku6-bi kin musz-bi [x x]
rest of column missing
column 5
n lines missing
1. [ku6-bi] x musz#-bi [x]-tag
2. i7-bi uri-ri dingir-bi {d}nin-ur4 DU
3. u2-ka e2-kur-ra
4. ku6-bi nun sal4 me? musz-bi igi gun3
5. i7-bi i7 kesz3{ki}
6. [dingir]-bi# {d}{asz11}aszgi{gi4} lugal# ki# AB
rest of column missing
column 6
column missing

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)
Consult word list of ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Literary (riddles riddles concerning cities)
Language(s)	Sumerian

Chronology

Period	ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P221796
Permalink	https://cdli.network/entity/P221796

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Lagash (mod. El-Hiba)
Written In
Excavation Number	2 H-T 025
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
Museum Number	IM—
Accession Number

References

primary: BiMes 3, 26

[Biggs1976BiMes3] Biggs, Robert D. 1976. Inscriptions from Al-Hiba—Lagash. The First and Second Seasons. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, Volume 3. Malibu: Undena Publications.
history: JNES 32, p. 26-33

[Biggs1973JNES32] Biggs, Robert D. 1973. “Pre-Sargonic Riddles from Lagash.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32 (1/2): 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1086/372217.
history: Bauer, Altori. Not. 5-8, p. 9-11

[sec27080] N.d.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Reviewer	Status
2024-10-02 at 09:11:25	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-02-07 at 12:29:12	Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Transliteration	Lisman, Jan J. W.	Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Approved
2021-07-22 at 08:16:36	Lafont, Bertrand	Transliteration	Lafont, Bertrand	CDLI	Approved
2016-07-28 at 16:22:23	CDLI	Transliteration	CDLI	CDLI	Approved
2013-06-19 at 16:15:22	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2011-10-19 at 06:59:32	Foxvog, Daniel A.	Transliteration	Foxvog, Daniel A.	CDLI	Approved
2008-10-09 at 16:04:41	Foxvog, Daniel A.	Transliteration	Foxvog, Daniel A.	CDLI	Approved
2007-04-19 at 04:51:54	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2007-04-19 at 04:48:10	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2007-01-17 at 23:55:58	Johnson, J. Cale	Transliteration	Johnson, J. Cale	CDLI	Approved
2006-10-12 at 12:34:58	CDLI	Transliteration	CDLI	CDLI	Approved
2003-02-26 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Alster, Bendt; Englund, Robert K.; Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Heinle, Michael; Johnson, J. Cale	CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifacts

“BiMes 03, 26 Artifact Entry.” (2003) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). October 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P221796.

BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry (No. P221796). (2024, October 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P221796 (Original work published 2003)

BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P221796 (Accessed: April 10, 2026).

@misc{2024BiMes,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-10]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {oct 2},
	title = {BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P221796},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P221796},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/10/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P221796
LB  - CDLI:P221796
M1  - 2026/4/10/
TI  - BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P221796
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“BiMes 03, 26 Artifact Entry.” (2003) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). October 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P221796.

BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry (No. P221796). (2024, October 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P221796 (Original work published 2003)

BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P221796 (Accessed: April 10, 2026).

@misc{2024BiMes,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-10]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {oct 2},
	title = {BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P221796},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P221796},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/10/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P221796
LB  - CDLI:P221796
M1  - 2026/4/10/
TI  - BiMes 03, 26 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P221796
ER  -