CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 (P346683)

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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Related publications

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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 5.06.01 Instructions of Shuruppak (witness) Instructions of Shuruppak)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
1'. [...]-ga# szu# [...]-x-[...]
 en: Evil does not forget the heart (either)
2'. [...] ki-x-am3 sza3-ga nu#-da13-da13#!
 en: Goodness is a fertile spot, it cannot be abandoned in the heart
3'. [...] nig2#-gur11-ra HAR-HAR la-ba-gu7!?
 en: Evil consumes property (like) fodder/debt(?)
4'. [...] i7-da ma2 he2-da-BAD
 en: May the boat be far away from/block/die along with(?) the evildoer in the river(?)
5'. [...]-na# {kusz}ummu3 he2-em-dar-dar
 en: The waterskin should split apart in the desert
6'. [...] ag2# nig2 e2 du3-du3-e
 en: A loving heart is something that builds a house
7'. [...] nig2#!? e2 gul-gul-e
 en: A hating heart is something that destroys a house
reverse
1. [...]-du8#-du8 gaba-gal2 me nam-nun-na-ra#?
 en: To the authoritative one, possessor of riches, forcefulness(?), and the “rites” of princeliness
2. [...] gu2# he2-bi2-ni-gar?
 en: One should submit to the authoritative
3. [...] ni2#-zu he2-ni-ne-la2
 en: You should attach yourself to(?) the powerful
4. [...] hul#-ur2 he2-en-szi-gal2
 en: My son, one should be against(?) the evildoer
5. [...]-ka# dam na-ba-du12-du12
 en: One should not marry in “that of a festival”
6. [...] bar#-ra hun!-ga2-am3
 en: Inside ... is rented, outside ... is rented
7. [...] x x x hun-ga2-am3
 en: The ... is rented, the ... is rented
8. [...] za#-gin3 hun!-ga2-am3
 en: The silver is rented, the lapis is rented
9. [...] x mu-un-da-sa2-a
 en: ... is one that(?) compares with ...
  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 5.06.01 Instructions of Shuruppak (witness) Instructions of Shuruppak)
  • Language(s): Sumerian

  • history: Alster, Shuruppak, Ur5

    [Alster1974Shuruppak] Alster, Bendt. 1974. The Instructions of Šurruppak : A Sumerian Proverb Collection. Vol. 2. Mesopotamia. Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.

  • history: UET 6, 0646

    [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 —
  • Findspot Square:
  • Findspot Comments:

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2015-11-26 at 17:23:09 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2015-11-26 at 17:00:57 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2011-12-14 at 05:39:35 Wagensonner, Klaus Transliteration Wagensonner, Klaus 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 000782 (Instructions of Shuruppak) composite (P478969) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000782, Ex. 061 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346683.
CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry (No. P346683). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346683 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346683 (Accessed: March 31, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-31]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346683},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346683},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346683
LB  - CDLI:P346683
M1  - 2026/3/31/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346683
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000782, Ex. 061 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P346683.
CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry (No. P346683). (2023, June 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346683 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346683 (Accessed: March 31, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-31]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {jun 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346683},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346683},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/6/15/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P346683
LB  - CDLI:P346683
M1  - 2026/3/31/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346683
ER  -
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