CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 (P346131)

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

Metadata / catalogue

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Text / annotations

Text data

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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 5.09.01 Home of Fish (witness) Home of the Fish)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
1. ku6 x ba ba za3 nam-dag#?-ge-a#?
 en: Fish, do not reject(?) a companion(!?)
2. ku6-gu10 ku6 hi-a he2-ga-me-da-an-ku4-ku4#
 en: My fish, may various kinds of fish also enter with you
3. sum4? sa6-sa6 u2-lal3 gux(KA)-gux(KA)#
 en: (Possessing) beautiful beards, eating(?) the ulal plant
4. ku6-gu10 suhur-gal{ku6}-gu10 he2-ga#-me#-da#-an-ku4-ku4#
 en: My fish, my suhurgal carp, may it too enter with you
5. {gi}ub-zal! gu7-gu7! KU NI x [...]
 en: Eating the ubzal reeds and ...
6. ku6#-gu10 suhur-tur-<gu10> he2-ga-me-da#-ku4#-ku4#
 en: My fish, my suhurtur carp, may it too enter with you
7. nundun!(KA) gal-gal gi-zi nag-x-ke4
 en: The one with big lips(?), sucking(?) the young reed growth
8. ku6-gu10 esztub{ku6}-gu10 he2-ga-me-da-an-ku4-ku4
 en: My fish, my eštub carp, may it too enter with you
9. {gesz}gi-musz giggi a-sza3-ga ri-a
 en: A black boat pole cast into the field
10. ku6-gu10 kun-bi2{ku6}-gu10 he2-ga-me-da-<an-ku4-ku4>
 en: My fish, my gubi eel, may it too enter with you
11. szah2 ma2-gan-la2 gu2 i7-da-sze3 nig2-silag-ga2 kar-kar-TE?-re
 en: A farrowing(?) pig ... towards the river bank in order to constantly steal dough(?)
12. ku6-gu10 kun-bi2{ku6}-gu10 he2-ga-me-da-an-ku4#-ku4
 en: My fish, my gubi eel, may it too enter with you
13. kun si gam3 kun sa-ha gesz?-ta#-ah4#
 en: (Possessing) a horned tail and a crook of a tail(!?), who plunders fruit(?) from the tree(s)(?)
14. ku6-gu10 ubi gal-gu10 he2-ga#-me-da-an-ku4-ku4#
 en: My fish, my great ubi fish, may it too enter with you
reverse
1. ku6 nig2-nag#?-ga#? dumu-gin7 er2 pa3#?-[...] x x [...]
 en: The fish ... weeping like a child ...
2. ku6-gu10 ubi-si-ge he2-ga-me-da-an-ku4-ku4
 en: My fish, the ubi.sig fish, may it too enter with you
3. [...]-am3 zu2# ga-rig2-am3
 en: (Its) head is a hoe, (its) teeth are a comb
4. [...]-bi# {gesz}I-x [...]-na#?
 en: Its skeleton is the top of a conifer(?) tree
5. [... {kusz}]ummu3#? [...]-da#?-ke4?
 en: Its air bladder(!?) is the waterskin of Dumuzi
6. [...] nu#?-ga2-x-NE
 en: ...
7. [...] x x
 en: ...
8. [...] x
 en: ...
  n lines broken
9'. [...] x x [...]
 en: ...
10'. [... he2]-ga#-me-da-[an]-ku4#-ku4
 en: My fish, my ... fish, may it too enter with you

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 5.09.01 Home of Fish (witness) Home of the Fish)
  • Language(s): Sumerian

  • history: Iraq 23 (pp. 154-175), 154

    [Civil1961Iraq23] Civil, Miguel. 1961. “The Home of the Fish. A New Sumerian Literary Composition.” Iraq 23 (2): 154–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/4199704.

  • history: UET 6, 0046

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

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

  • Provenience: Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
  • Elevation:
  • Stratigraphic Level:
  • Excavation No: U 16879E
  • Findspot Square:
  • Findspot Comments:

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-07-31 at 16:45:50 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-12 at 10:03:20 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58 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

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 000793 (Home of Fish) composite (P478976) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000793, Ex. 006 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 31, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346131.
CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry (No. P346131). (2024, July 31). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346131 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346131 (Accessed: March 28, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-28]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 31},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346131},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346131},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/31/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346131
LB  - CDLI:P346131
M1  - 2026/3/28/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346131
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000793, Ex. 006 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 31, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346131.
CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry (No. P346131). (2024, July 31). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346131 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346131 (Accessed: March 28, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-28]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 31},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346131},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346131},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/31/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346131
LB  - CDLI:P346131
M1  - 2026/3/28/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000793, ex. 006 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346131
ER  -
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