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

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

Text

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

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 5.06.01 Instructions of Shuruppak (witness) Instructions of Shuruppak)
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 000782 (Instructions of Shuruppak) composite (P478969) Q000782 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346683

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number U —
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) 5.6.1
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 5.6.1
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346683

References

  • 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 John, and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.

Revisions and credits

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, CDLI Approved View
2015-11-26 at 17:23:09 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2015-11-26 at 17:00:57 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2011-12-14 at 05:39:35 Wagensonner, Klaus Transliteration Wagensonner, Klaus 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 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: October 26, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-26]},
	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  - 2026/10/26/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346683
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“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: October 26, 2026).
@misc{2023CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-26]},
	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  - 2026/10/26/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 061 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346683
ER  -
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