UET 6, 0315 (P346368)

Wisdom or proverb 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

Cite

Photo

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 > Wisdom or proverb (Proverbs Collection 2)

Language(s)

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
blank space
1. ansze# i7!-da diri-ga
en: A donkey (was) floating (downstream) in the river
2. ur-gir15 bar-rim4-ma igi DU-e-x
en: A dog was ahead of him(?) on dry land
3. [a]-a ugu-gu10 me-sze3 al-du-un#
en: (Saying) “My birth father, where are you going?
4. x MU te er2-gu10 ugu-zu ga-pa3#?
en: ... I shall weep upon you/on your behalf(?)/My ... come near(?) that I may cast my eye upon you(?)”
single ruling
5. e2 gurusz gal-gal-e#-ne-ka#
en: In a house of many young men
6. {gesz}al#? [...] x-ra?-an-NE#?
en: ... the hoe and the carrying basket(?)
7. ak#?-x [...]-x
en: ...
8. PA# li#?-[...]
en: ...
9'. UD UR#? [...]
en: ...
single ruling
sic?
reverse
blank space
1. DU#? x [...]
en: "Run!"(?) ...
2. lugal-[...]
en: The king ...
3. ku3-ga-ke4#-[esz]
en: Because of the silver
4. ku3-sig17-ga-ke4#-[esz]
en: Because of the gold
5. {uruda}szen-na-ke4-esz
en: Because of the cauldron(?)
6. {uruda}szen-dili2-na-ke4-esz
en: Because of the ewer
7. ga2-e ba-til-de3-en
en: I am to be finished
blank space

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)

Text content

Genre(s)	Literary > Wisdom or proverb (Proverbs Collection 2) School text
Language(s)

Chronology

Period	Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P346368
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P346368

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number	U 17207.132
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

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

References

primary: UET 6, 0315

[Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.
history: Alster Proverbs, 290, 318

[Alster1997Proverbs] Alster, Bendt. 1997. Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World’s Earliest Proverb Collection.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Reviewer	Status
2024-09-02 at 08:45:16	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:32:18	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2024-09-02 at 07:29:31	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2019-05-29 at 21:01:59	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Peterson, Jeremiah	CDLI	Approved
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N.	CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“UET 6, 0315 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346368.

UET 6, 0315 artifact entry (No. P346368). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346368 (Original work published 2006)

UET 6, 0315 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346368 (Accessed: June 14, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-06-14]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0315 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346368},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346368},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346368
LB  - CDLI:P346368
M1  - 2026/6/14/
TI  - UET 6, 0315 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346368
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“UET 6, 0315 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 2, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346368.

UET 6, 0315 artifact entry (No. P346368). (2024, September 2). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346368 (Original work published 2006)

UET 6, 0315 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346368 (Accessed: June 14, 2026).

@misc{2024UET,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-06-14]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 2},
	title = {UET 6, 0315 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346368},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346368},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/2/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346368
LB  - CDLI:P346368
M1  - 2026/6/14/
TI  - UET 6, 0315 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346368
ER  -