UET 6, 0387 (P254895)

Wisdom or proverb 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

Cite

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)

Literary > Wisdom or proverb (calc., proverb)

Language(s)

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
blank space
1. gi4-in ga#-sza#-[...]-ni#?-sze3#?
2. sze-er nu-un-gal2
en: The female worker did not have authority over her mistress
3. mu#-u4-na-ni ga#-an-ze2-e
en: "I shall pluck my(!) husband (instead)”
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)

Text content

Genre(s)	Literary > Wisdom or proverb (calc., proverb)
Language(s)

Chronology

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

Record

CDLI number	P254895
Permalink	https://cdli.network/entity/P254895

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Excavation Number	U 17207.100
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number	BM —
Accession Number

References

primary: UET 6, 0387

[Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.
history: Alster Proverbs, 326

[Alster1997Proverbs] Alster, Bendt. 1997. Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World’s Earliest Proverb Collection.
history: OECT 14, fig. A.5.5

[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.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	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
2019-06-05 at 11:28:00	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2019-06-05 at 11:27:23	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2005-02-01 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Friberg, Jöran; Guerra, Dylan; Middeke-Conlin, Robert; Peterson, Jeremiah	CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifacts

“UET 6, 0387 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254895.

UET 6, 0387 artifact entry (No. P254895). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254895 (Original work published 2005)

UET 6, 0387 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254895 (Accessed: April 10, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-10]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0387 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254895},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254895},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254895
LB  - CDLI:P254895
M1  - 2026/4/10/
TI  - UET 6, 0387 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254895
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“UET 6, 0387 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P254895.

UET 6, 0387 artifact entry (No. P254895). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P254895 (Original work published 2005)

UET 6, 0387 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P254895 (Accessed: April 10, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-10]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0387 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P254895},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P254895},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P254895
LB  - CDLI:P254895
M1  - 2026/4/10/
TI  - UET 6, 0387 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P254895
ER  -