CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 (P346093)

Literary 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

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 (ETCSL 1.04.01 Inanna's Descent (witness))

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
column 1'
1. [...]-du3
 en: ...
2. [...] x-SI?
 en: ...
3. [...] bi2#-in-ra
 en: At that time, Ereškigal slapped her thigh
4. [...]-x sza3-sze3 ba-an-gid2
 en: She bit her lip and considered the news
5. [...] gu3# mu-na-de2?-e#
 en: She was speaking to Biti, her chief gatekeeper
6. [... {d}bi2]-ti# i3-du8 gal-gu10
 en: Come, Biti, my chief gatekeeper
7. [...]-gu10#-usz gesztux(|GISZ.TUG2|)-zu
 en: Pay attention to what I have said to you
8. [...] he2-eb2?-ta-an#-ur3
 en: She(?) shall drag the bolts of the seven gates of the netherworld from (their lock?)
9. [...]-bi? [...]-us2#?
 en: She(?) shall push the single door of the palace of Ganzer push (open)
  rest broken
column 2'
1. kusz sil2-sil2#?-la#?-ni lu2 ma#-[...]
 en: The man took away her split apart skin(?)
2. ta-am3 [...]
 en: What (is going on/is this/he (doing))(?)?
3. si-a {d}inanna me kur-ra-ke4# szu#? [...]
 en: Be satisfied, Inanna! This is the rite of the netherworld that is being completed
4. {d}inanna garza kur-ra-ke4 ka#?-[...]-ba#?-e#
 en: Inanna! This is the procedure of the netherworld, you should not speak aloud
5. gurum-gurum-ma-a-ni im-ma-da-an-x-x-e
 en: When she bent down/died, ... her
6. nin9-a-ni {gesz}gu-za-ni-ta im-ma-da-an-zi
 en: Her sister raised her up from her throne
7. e-ne {gesz}gu-za-ni-ta dur2 im-mi-in-gar
 en: She sat down apart from her throne
8. {d}a-nun-na di-ku5 imin-bi di mu-na-ku5-de3
 en: The seven judges of the Anuna were judging her
9. inim-ne-ne# lipisz gig-ga-am3
 en: Their decision(?) was one of embittered anger
10. gu3# bi2-in-x-x# lipisz gig-ga-am3
 en: ..., it was embittered anger
11. [...]-ni-in-ra uzu nig2 sag3-ga-sze3 ba-an-ku4
 en: ... struck her and turned her into a smitten piece of meat
12. [...]-ta igi-ni lu2 mu-un-da-la2
 en: The man hung her face/front(?) from(!) a crossbeam(?)
13. mu# imin iti imin u4 imin ba-zal-la-ta
 en: After seven years, seven months, and seven days elapsed
14. sukkal#-a-ni {d}nin-szubur-ra inim nin-a-na gesztu2 ba-szi-in-gub
 en: Her vizier Ninšubur paid attention to the word of her lady
15. [er2] du6#!?-du6-dam mu-un-na-gar-gar
 en: She repeatedly made “the lament of ruin heaps” for her
16. [...] gu2#?-en-na mu-un-na-du12
 en: She played the šem drum of the assembly/throne room for her
17. [...]-re#-e#-ne mu-na-nigin#
 en: She circled the temples of the gods for her
18. [...]-un#-hur giri17-ni mu-un-hur
 en: She scratched her face, she scratched her nose
19. [...] x-esz hasz4 gal-a-ni mu-un-hur
 en: The place unseen (when) with a man, she scratched her (inner) thigh
20. [...] x-ra#?-a-na#? x [...]
 en: ...
  rest broken
reverse
column 1
  beginning broken
1'. [...]-x
 en: ...
2'. [...]-x
 en: ...
3'. [...]-gal2#?
 en: Her fingernails were lodged (in her flesh)(?) like lubi axes/agricultural implements
4'. [...]-ga2#?-na# [...]-x-gur5
 en: She trimmedthe hair on her head like leeks
5'. [...]-a-ni
 en: When she says “alas, my (heart/liver)”
6'. [...]-zu# mu-na-an-esz
 en: They said to her “you are weary, our lady (is the reason for?) your 'alas, (my) liver'"(?)
7'. [...]-ze2-en
 en: Who are you?
8'. [...]-ta bar-gu10 [...]-x-be2-en#-ze2-en
 en: From my heart to your heart, from my liver(?) to your liver(?), ...
9'. [...]-ze2#?-en inim# ga-mu-ri-ib-<<x>>-du11
 en: If you are a god, I shall speak to you(?)
10'. [...]-en-ze2-en nam ga-mu-ri-ib-tar
 en: If you are human, I shall decree a fate (of death) for you
11'. [...] ki mu-ni-in-pa3-de3
 en: They swore by the life of heaven and earth (that they were gods)
12'. [...]-x-DU-de3-de3-esz
 en: ... were to go/bring out/up(?)
13'. [...]-ba# mu-ne-ba-e szu nu-um-ma-gid2-de3
 en: Water of the river was offered to them but not accepted
14'. [...]-ba# mu-ne-ba-e szu nu-um-ma-gid2-de3
 en: Barley of the field was offered to them but not accepted
15'. [...] nig2 sag3-ga gesz-dal-ta <<ri>> la2-a szum2-me-eb in-na-an-ne-esz
 en: They were saying to her “give us the beaten meat hanging from the beam”
16'. [...] uzu# nig2 sag3-ga nig2 ga-sza-an-ne-ne-kam
 en: ... the meat that was beaten was that of their(!) lady
17'. [nig2] lugal#?-me he2?-a? nig2 nin-me he2-me-a szum2-me-eb in-na-ne-esz
 en: They were saying “give it, whether it pertains to our king or our lady”
  rest broken

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 1.04.01 Inanna's Descent (witness))
Language(s) Sumerian

Chronology

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

Composites

This artifact is a witness to the following composite(s):

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346093

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

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

Collections

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

References

  • history: UET 6, 0008

    [Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-09 at 20:56:27 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2019-06-01 at 14:34:08 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:59 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI Approved View
2014-10-19 at 09:43:17 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2014-08-27 at 15:48:10 Heinle, Michael Transliteration Heinle, Michael CDLI Approved View
2012-04-21 at 21:30:15 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact metadata Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000343, Ex. 032 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346093.
CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry (No. P346093). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346093 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346093 (Accessed: May 19, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-19]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346093},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346093},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346093
LB  - CDLI:P346093
M1  - 2026/5/19/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346093
ER  - 

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000343, Ex. 032 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346093.
CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry (No. P346093). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346093 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346093 (Accessed: May 19, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-19]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346093},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346093},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346093
LB  - CDLI:P346093
M1  - 2026/5/19/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346093
ER  - 
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