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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

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Text / annotations

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Chemical Data

Seal Chemistry

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Metadata history Transliteration history

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

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

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)

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

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

  • history: UET 6, 0008

    [Gadd1963] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966.

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

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

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

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

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

Composite Score
CDLI Literary 000343 (Inanna&#039;s Descent) composite (P468903) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -
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: April 18, 2025).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-04-18]},
	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  - 2025/4/18/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000343, ex. 032 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346093
ER  -
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