CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 (P346157)

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

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 (ETCSL 4.02.01 Baba A (witness))

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
1. munus zi {d}utu kalam-ma {d}lamma me-tesz2 ga-i#-i#
 en: True woman, the Utu (i.e., sun) of the land, I want to praise the lamma
2. sukkal! mah ama {d}ba-ba6 zi lugal-la u3-tu
 en: Supreme vizier of mother Bau, who engenders the life of the king
3. ra-gaba ku3 an-sza3-ta dub nam-ti-la-na e11#-de3
 en: Pure rider, bringing her tablet of life down from the midst of heaven
4. tu15 an-ta giri3-a DU he2-gal2 pa e11
 en: Wind(?) from above going along the path, making abundance manifest(!?)
5. mu-x-hi-isz-tum sag szum2 me-te {d}ba-ba6 uru2-ku3-ga he2-du7-bi-im#
 en: The one who advances forth, the fitting one of Bau, she is the ornament of the Irikug sacred precinct
6. {d}lamma lu2# siskur2-ra {d}ba-ba6-ur2? inim du10 ga#-di
 en: Lamma, the one of the siskur prayer/ritual, (says) “I want to say a sweet word for Bau”
7. nam-lu2-lu7{lu} ki ag2 nig2-ba-bi hul2-le#-za
 en: Who loves the people, when you rejoice at their gift
8. {d}lamma-sa6-ga {d}ba#-ba6# MUNUS-bi su3-u4-sze3 ga-mu-e-i-i-de3-en
 en: Lammasaga of Bau ... we praise profoundly
9. x sag sa6 hi-li gur3-ru kiszi4-kiszi4 {na4}za-gin3 duru5
 en: ... (with?) a beautiful(?) head(?), bearing allure, both halves (of her head) are(?) gleaming lapis
10. [...] x-ga TUG2 NIG2 gesz? E gun3#-gun3#-gu2
 en: ..., sparkling/variegated ...
11. [...] DU-e#? a#?-ma?-ru-um? u6-di-zu
 en: ... your admiration/sight
12. [...] x lugal-sze3 <igi?> he2-em-szi-ni-gal2
 en: ... may she look at(?) the king there
13. [...] gub#?-bu-zu# lal3 x [...]
 en: ... when you stand/your standing, honey ...
  rest broken
reverse
  beginning broken
1'. [...] x x LU LU ru#? [...]
 en: ...
2'. [...] gesz?-gi-na tam-tam-ma-ka
 en: ... of pure limbs(?)
3'. [...] x-ra munus zi {d}lamma-gu10
 en: ..., true lady, my lamma
4'. [{d}lamma-sa6-ga {d}ba-ba6] MUNUS#-bi su3-u4-sze3 ga-e-i-i-de3-en
 en: Lammasaga of Bau ... we praise profoundly
5'. [...] x dub?-ba?-sze3 la2-a he2-em-me-za e3? ur4? ak
 en: May your saying “may ... attached ... to ..."(?), ...
6'. nir-gal2 ki ag2 {d}ba-ba6 nin dugud du11-ga zi-da-ke4
 en: Noble one, beloved by Bau, the important lady of the true command
7'. ha-ra-ni-ib-x he2#?-<<IM?>>-em-ku7 nin x gesztin?-gin7 ku7-ku7-da
 en: May she ... for you, may ... be sweet(?), lady to be sweetened like ... and wine?
8'. en {d}ig-alim-ma-ke4 gal-bi hu-mu-gal2 me-tesz2-bi
 en: Lord Igalima, may the(?) praise be greatly present
9'. munus zi {d}lamma-gu10 nin nam-gu3-de2-a-za
 en: True lady, my protective deity, lady of your (own?) craft of proclamation(?)
10'. {d}lamma-sa6-ga {d}ba-ba6 MUNUS-bi su3-u4-sze3 ga-mu-e-i-i#-de3#-en
 en: Lamasaga of Bau ... we praise profoundly
11'. nin gu7 nag giri17-zal? x nam-he2-a x il2-i
 en: The lady ... joyful(?) eating and drinking, raising ... abundance ...
12'. ki-tusz he2-gal2 abzu-ta kurun2 kasz-a gu3 nun di
 en: The dwelling “abundance from/in(?) the Abzu,” bellowing nobly in (consuming) liquor and beer

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 4.02.01 Baba A (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):

Composite Composite Number Score
CDLI Literary 000616 (Baba A) composite (P478847) Q000616 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346157

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number U 16868
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

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

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature transliterations (ETCSL transliterations) 4.2.1
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 4.2.1
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346157
Ur Online Project (UrOnline) 17764

References

  • history: UET 6, 0072

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

  • history: JCS 26 (pp. 158-177), 176-177

    [Sjoberg1974JCS26] Sjöberg, Åke W. 1974. “A Hymn to dLAMA-SA6-GA.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 26 (3): 158–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/1359271.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-09-09 at 15:15:02 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2023-06-28 at 23:15:35 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Hafford, William B.; Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-11 at 16:08:27 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:02:01 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI, CDLI Artifact metadata Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI, CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000616, Ex. 001 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 9, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346157.
CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry (No. P346157). (2024, September 9). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346157 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346157 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 9},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346157},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346157},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/9/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346157
LB  - CDLI:P346157
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346157
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000616, Ex. 001 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 9, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346157.
CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry (No. P346157). (2024, September 9). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346157 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346157 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 9},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346157},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346157},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/9/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346157
LB  - CDLI:P346157
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000616, ex. 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346157
ER  -
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