CDLI Literary 000368, ex. 021 (P346133)

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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Chemical Data

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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 1.08.02.02 Lugalbanda and Anzu (witness) Epic of Lugalbanda II)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
column 1'
  beginning broken
1'. [...]-x
 en: ...
2'. [...]-x
 en: ...
column 2'
  beginning broken
1'. mu#?-[...]
 en: I (Lugalbanda) relied upon you (the Anzu bird)
2'. dam-[...]
 en: He said “may your wife be my mother”
3'. za#-e# ad-da-x [...]
 en: He said “may you be my(?) father”
4'. [...]-la2#-zu#-ne# [...]
 en: Your little ones as my brothers
5'. nam#?-ba#-ni#-in#-ku4#-[...]
 en: Indeed (I?) will regard them (lit. bring them in)
6'. [...] ha#?-szu-ur2#? nu#?-[...]
 en: Since yesterday in the (mountain of) cypress, the unknown of mountain(s)
7'. [...] mu#-un-x-[...]
 en: (I) have been standing in place (waiting) for you
8'. [...] he2#-me#-da#-[...]
 en: May your spouse stand beside you in my greeting
9'. [...]-mu#-ra#-ab-[...]
 en: I shall greet you
10'. [...] x x [...]
 en: ...
reverse
column 1
1. ga2-nu# [...]
 en: Come, my lugalbanda
2. ma2-gur8#? [...]
 en: Like a barge(?) (carrying) precious metal, like a boat (carrying) barley
3. ma2 {gesz#}[...]
 en: Like a boat that is to transport apples
4. ma2 ukusz2#-[...]
 en: Like a boat providing shade to(?) cucumbers
5. ma2# ki buru14# [...]
 en: Like a boat exuding allure at the site of the harvest
6. szegx(MURGU2)# kul-aba4{ki#}-[...]
 en: Go proudly back to the brickwork of Kulaba
7. {d}lugal-banda3{+da} lu2# [...]
 en: Lugalbanda, the one who loves the seed(?)
8. szu# nu-um-ma-gid2#-[...]
 en: Was not accepting (the suggestion)
9. {d#}nin-urta dumu {d}en-lil2-la2#-[...]
 en: Ninurta, the son of Enlil
10. {tug2#}sagszu pirig me3-a ugu-za he2-x-[...]
 en: May he cover the top of your head with the sagšu turban, the pirig creature of battle
11. x-GAB# en kur-gal-la gaba nu-[...]
 en: ... of lord(?)/mighty ... of(?) the Great Mountain (Enlil) (whose) chest cannot be turned back
12. gaba#-za he2-en-DU-[...]
 en: May he stand it(?) on your chest
13. kur-ra sa u3 NE KA sa USZ [...]
 en: In the mountain/foreign land a ... net(?), a ... net(?) ...
14. iri#{ki} im-sze3!?-du-u5!? ki#? x [...]
 en: (You?) will go(?) to the city(?), the site of Unug(?)
15. {d#}lugal-banda3{+da} lu2 numun-e#? [...]
 en: Lugalbanda, the one who loves the seed(?)
16. szu#? nu#-um#-ma-gid2#-[...]
 en: Was not accepting these
17. [...] dumu ki ag2# {d}[...]
 en: Like Šara, the beloved son of Inanna
18. [...]-a# u4-gin7 e3#-[...]
 en: Bring out your barbed arrows like sunlight
19. [...] iti6-gin7# [...]
 en: Bring out ... like moonlight
20. [...] ra#-ra-x [...]
 en: May the barbed arrow act as a šagtur snake(?) to those it hits
  rest broken
column 2
1. [... {d}]lugal#-banda3{+da}
 en: The Anzu bird (to) holy lugalbanda
2. [...]-RI
 en: Was speaking(?)
3. [...] lirum# he2-gal2
 en: May there be strength in your arms
4. [...]-ba-kusz2-u3-de3
 en: May you(?) never tire
5. [...] na#?-an-gig-ga-a
 en: Your pumping arms shall not suffer pain
6. [...] u4 imin-bi {d}iszkur-gi2
 en: Moving like the sun, like Inanna, like(?) the seven storms of Iškur
7. [...] nim#-gin7# ga-gir2
 en: (You said?) “I want rise like flame and flash like lightning”
8. [...] gen-ni!
 en: Go where your eye looks and sees
9. [...]-bi-ib
 en: Set your foot to wherever you eye raises to
10. [...] gi4#-bi
 en: Confront according to your free will/wish
11. [...]-a
 en: In the place where your heart also speaks to you (about)
12. [...]-a
 en: Untie your sandals
13. [...]-ku4-da
 en: (When) Utu is to bring (you) (back) to your city, Kulaba
14. [...]-a
 en: The one who curses you
  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 1.08.02.02 Lugalbanda and Anzu (witness) Epic of Lugalbanda II)
  • Language(s): Sumerian

  • history: UET 6, 0048

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

  • history: Wilcke Lugalbandaepos, 087 Y

    [Wilcke1969Lugalbandaepos] Wilcke, Claus. 1969. Das Lugalbandaepos. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz.

  • 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
2024-07-25 at 10:08:10 Firth, Richard Artifact, Other Entity Firth, Richard Firth, Richard approved View
2024-07-25 at 10:05:54 Firth, Richard Artifact, Other Entity Firth, Richard Firth, Richard approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune approved View
2019-06-11 at 09:42:48 Englund, Robert K. Atf Englund, Robert K. CDLI approved View
2019-06-01 at 14:34:09 Englund, Robert K. Atf Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58 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 000368 (Lugalbanda and Anzu) composite (P469673) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -
Cite this Artifact
“CDLI Literary 000368, Ex. 021 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 25, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346133.
CDLI Literary 000368, ex. 021 artifact entry (No. P346133). (2024, July 25). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346133 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000368, ex. 021 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346133 (Accessed: June 25, 2025).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-06-25]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 25},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000368, ex. 021 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346133},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346133},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/25/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346133
LB  - CDLI:P346133
M1  - 2025/6/25/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000368, ex. 021 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346133
ER  -
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