CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 001 (P346162)

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

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 2.04.01.04 Ur-Namma D (witness) Ur version)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
1'. {d#}nun#-nam#-[nir ...]
 en: Where in Sumer and Akkad will Nunamnir chose?
2'. nibru#{ki#}-e# [hur]-sag# [...] nam#-[...]
 en: In Nippur, at the “mountain range of life,” he decreed my(!?) fate
3'. uri2#{ki#}-e# e2#-[...]
 en: At Ur, it being in the Emudkura shrine
4'. {gesz#?}[...]-ni suhuszx(DU@s)-bi# [...]-gin6#
 en: He secured the foundations of his throne
5'. aga# [...] me#-tesz2 nam#-[...]-la#? sag-[...]-mi-gal2
 en: The crown and the (accompanying) aura, (eliciting) the “praise” of kingship, he(!?) put on my(?) head
6'. {gesz#?}[...] ku3# ug3 1(szar2) si-si#-[...] szu-ga2 im#-mi#-[...]-sa2#
 en: He made the pure scepter that puts the many people in order the equal of my hand(?)
7'. [...]-giri17 zi-gal2 DU#-DU#-e#? [...]-gu10-usz im-ma#-an#-szum2#?
 en: He gave to my hand ... and the nose-rope that convey the people
8'. [...]-e#? x [...] e2 u6 di-da-bi [...] im#-mi#-in#-sa2
 en: ... the temple to be admired(?) he put in order(?)
9'. [...] x [...] x x x
 en: ...
  rest broken
reverse
  beginning broken
1'. gi#-zi# [...]
 en: The gizi reed growth, “standing in silver"(?), flourishes
2'. na-ri-gu10 u4 he2-gal2#-la#? [...] {i7}EZEN-ku3 mu sze-[...]
 en: My canal(?) (that furnishes?) a day of abundance, a reign(?) of ..., the “pure ...” canal is named
3'. mu# da-ri ka-ge5 du-a-ba i7 pa4-[...]
 en: Named an everlasting name that is suitable for the mouth, the “its (outlying) ditches are clean” canal is named
4'. [...] iri#{ki}-ga2 a-ra2-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi [mu-szi-na]
 en: (As for?) me, the way of (the canal of?) my city is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds
5'. [{i7}EZEN]-ku3# iri-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi mu-szi-na#
 en: The “pure ...” canal, it flow(!?) is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds
6'. [i7 pa4-bi]-luh# a-ra2-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi mu-szi-na#
 en: The canal whose (outlying) ditches are clean, its flow is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds
7'. [...] ku6 hu-ma#-ra-ab-de6 e2-kisz-nu-gal2-sze3
 en: Abundantly it brought fish to the Ekišnugal temple
8'. [...] gu2#-gu2 mu-su-ur lu2-u2 u2-lal3 gu7-e
 en: ... (on its banks) are munzer plants which one eats (like?) the “honey plant”
9'. [...]-bi# sze gu-nu# mu2-mu2 {gesz}tir-gin7 su-su-e-x
 en: Making mottled barley/crops grow in its meadows (so that it) sways like a forest/for it to be denuded (at harvest time) like a forest(?)
10'. [...]-ub#-da# limmu2-bi sze-ga {d}en-lil2-la2
 en: The king of the four regions, obedient one of Enlil
11'. [...] sipa# u2-a ki-en-gi uri-e ki ag2 {d}en-lil2-la2
 en: Ur-Namma, the shepherd and provider in Sumer and Akkad, loved by Enlil
12'. bala#?-na nig2 uri2{ki}-ma-ke4 sila-am3 u4 mi-ni-in-za-e-en-za-e-le za#-e-me#-en
 en: In his reign(?) that makes(?) (every)thing of Urim rejoice, you are the one who spends time there(?)
13'. ur-{d}namma lugal mu da-a-ri za3-mi2-zu du10-ga
 en: Ur-Namma, king with an eternal name, your praise is sweet
  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 2.04.01.04 Ur-Namma D (witness) Ur version)
  • Language(s): Sumerian

  • history: UET 6, 0077

    [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 16860
  • Findspot Square:
  • Findspot Comments:

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-06-28 at 23:15:35 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact Hafford, William B.; Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune 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 11:04:41 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 21:02:01 Englund, Robert K. Atf Peterson, Jeremiah 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 000389 (Ur-Namma D) composite (P469691) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -
Cite this Artifact
“CDLI Literary 000389, Ex. 001 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 28, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346162.
CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 001 artifact entry (No. P346162). (2023, June 28). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346162 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 001 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346162 (Accessed: June 14, 2025).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-06-14]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 28},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000389, ex. 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346162},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346162},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/28/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346162
LB  - CDLI:P346162
M1  - 2025/6/14/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346162
ER  -
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