CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 (P254877)

Mathematical 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

Metadata / catalogue

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Text / annotations

Text data

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Related publications

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Chemical Data

Seal Chemistry

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Photo

Lineart

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)

Scholarly or scientific > Mathematical, Literary > Wisdom or proverb (ETCSL 6.01.02 Proverbs Collection 02 (witness) math. calc., proverb)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
blank space
1. sag sar-ra sikix(U8) ba-an-tuku-tuku
en: A shaven head acquired (more) hair,
2. u3 lu2 sze de5-de5-ga
en: and the grain gatherer
3. {d}asznan ba-ab-diri-ga
en: increased (the growth of the grain goddess) Ezina.
blank space
reverse
blank space
(numerical notations)

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)

Collections

British Museum, London, UK

Physical Information

Artifact type: Tablet
Material: Clay
Measurements (mm):
Weight:
Artifact Preservation:
Condition Description:
Join Information:
Seal no.:
Seal information:
Artifact comments:

Text Information

Genre(s): Scholarly or scientific > Mathematical, Literary > Wisdom or proverb (ETCSL 6.01.02 Proverbs Collection 02 (witness) math. calc., proverb)
Language(s): Sumerian

Related publications

history: Alster Proverbs, 043

[Alster1997Proverbs] Alster, Bendt. 1997. Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World’s Earliest Proverb Collection.
history: UET 6, 0293

[Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.
history: Gordon SP, 520 UUUU

[Gordon1959SP] Gordon, Edmund I. 1959. Sumerian Proverbs : Glimpses of Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Museum Monograph of the University Museum. University of Pennsylvania. University Museum.
history: OECT 14, fig. A.5.12

[Robson1999OECT14] Robson, Eleanor. 1999. Mesopotamian Mathematics, 2100-1600 BC. Technical Constants in Bureaucracy and Education. Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts, Vol. 14. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Identifiers

Composite No.:
Museum No.: BM —
Accession No.:

Provenience

Provenience: Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Elevation:
Stratigraphic Level:
Excavation No: U 17207.061
Findspot Square:
Findspot Comments:

Chronology

Period: Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Dates Referenced:
Alternative Years:
Date Comments:
Accounting Period:

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Project	Reviewer	Status
2024-09-02 at 08:45:16	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:32:18	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:29:31	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2023-06-15 at 19:55:18	Rattenborg, Rune	Artifact metadata	Rattenborg, Rune	Geomapping Landscapes of Writing	Rattenborg, Rune	Approved
2019-06-12 at 10:18:55	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.		CDLI	Approved
2019-05-29 at 21:02:01	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Peterson, Jeremiah		CDLI	Approved
2005-02-01 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Friberg, Jöran; Guerra, Dylan; Middeke-Conlin, Robert; Peterson, Jeremiah		CDLI	Approved

External Resources

Consult this artifact as presented on the website of collections and projects:

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature transliterations (6.1.2) (6.1.2)
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (6.1.2) (6.1.2)
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (P254877) (P254877)

Notes

General Notes: -

CDLI Notes: -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000796, Ex. 083 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254877.

CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry (No. P254877). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254877 (Original work published 2005)

CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254877 (Accessed: January 24, 2026).

@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-01-24]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254877},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254877},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254877
LB  - CDLI:P254877
M1  - 2026/1/24/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254877
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000796, Ex. 083 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254877.

CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry (No. P254877). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254877 (Original work published 2005)

CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254877 (Accessed: January 24, 2026).

@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-01-24]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254877},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254877},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254877
LB  - CDLI:P254877
M1  - 2026/1/24/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 083 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254877
ER  -