RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 (P390441)

Mathematical tablet excavated in Mari (mod. Tell Hariri), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in National Museum of Syria, Der-ez-Zor, Syria

Museum Collection(s)

National Museum of Syria, Der-ez-Zor, Syria

Museum Number

NMSDeZ — ?

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Mari (mod. Tell Hariri)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Scholarly or scientific > Mathematical (metro-mathematical)

Language(s)

-

Measurements

40.0 mm × 51.0 mm

Text

tablet
obverse
1. 1(disz) _sze_-tum _sze_-t,e6-tam 1(disz)-ti-tam u2-s,i2-ma
 en: A barley-corn: to a single barley-corn I increased,
  1 sze is approximately 0.05g of barley
2. 2(disz) _sze_ i-na _u4_ pa-ni-e
 en: 2 barley-corns in the 1st day;
3. _4(disz) sze u4 2(disz)-kam_
 en: 4 barley-corns in the 2nd day;
4. _8(disz) sze u4 3(disz)-kam_
 en: 8 barley-corns in the 3rd day;
5. _1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 4(disz)-kam_
 en: 16 barley-corns in the 4th day;
6. _igi 6(disz)-gal2 2(disz) sze u4 5(disz)-kam_
 en: 1/6 (shekel) 2 barley-corns in the 5th day;
7. _1/3(disz)# gin2 4(disz) sze u4 6(disz)-kam_
 en: 1/3 shekel 4 barley-corns in the 6th day;
8. [_2/3(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4] 7(disz)-kam#_
 en: 2/3 shekel 8 barley-corns in the 7th day;
9. [_1(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 8(disz)-kam_]
 en: 1 1/3 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 8th day;
10. [_2(disz) 5/6(disz) gin2 2(disz) sze u4 9(disz)-kam_]
 en: 2 5/6 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 9th day;
11. [_5(disz) 2/3(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 1(u)-kam_]
 en: 5 2/3 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 10th day;
12. [_1(u) 1(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4 1(u) 1(disz)-kam_]
 en: 11 1/3 shekels 8 barley-corns in the 11th day;
13. [_1/3(disz) ma-na 2(disz) 2/3(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 1(u) 2(disz)-kam_]
 en: 1/3 mina 2 2/3 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 12th day;
14. [_2/3(disz) ma-na 5(disz) 1/2(disz) gin2 2(disz) sze u4 1(u) 3(disz)-kam_]
 en: 2/3 mina 5 1/2 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 13th day;
15. [_1(disz) 1/2(disz) ma-na 1(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 1(u) 4(disz)-kam_]
 en: 1 1/2 mina 1 shekel 4 barley-corns in the 14th day;
16. [_3(disz) ma-na 2(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4 1(u) 5(disz)-kam_]
 en: 3 minas 2 shekels 8 barley-corns in the 15th day;
17. [_6(disz) ma-na 4(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 1(u) 6(disz)-kam_]
 en: 6 minas 4 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 16th day;
18. [_1(u) 2(disz) ma-na 8(disz) gin2 igi 6(disz)-gal2 2(disz) sze u4 1(u) 7(disz)-kam_]
 en: 12 minas 8 1/6 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 17th day;
19. [_2(u) 4(disz) ma-na 1(u) 6(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 1(u) 8(disz)-kam_]
 en: 24 minas 16 1/3 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 18th day;
20. [_4(u) 8(disz) 1/2(disz) ma-na 2(disz) 2/3(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4 2(u) la2 1(disz)-kam_]
 en: 48 1/2 minas 2 2/3 shekels 8 barley-corns in the 19th day;
21. [_1(asz) gu2 3(u) 7(disz) ma-na 5(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 2(u)-kam_]
 en: 1 talent 37 minas 5 1/2 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 20th day;
reverse
1. [_3(asz) gu2 1(u) 4(disz) ma-na 1(u) 5/6(disz) gin2 2(disz) sze u4 2(u) 1(disz)-kam_]
 en: 3 talents 14 minas 10 5/5 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 21st day;
2. [_6(asz) gu2 2(u) 8(disz) 1/3(disz) ma-na 1(disz) 2/3(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 2(u) 2(disz)-kam_]
 en: 6 talents 28 1/3 minas 1 2/3 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 22nd day;
3. [_1(u) 2(asz) gu2 5(u) 6(disz) 2/3(disz) ma-na 3(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4 2(u) 3(disz)-kam_]
 en: 12 talents 56 2/3 minas 3 1/3 shekels 8 barley-corns in the 23rd day;
4. [_2(u) 5(asz) gu2 5(u) 3(disz) 1/3(disz) ma-na 6(disz) 2/3(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 2(u) 4(disz)-kam_]
 en: 25 talents 53 1/3 minas 6 2/3 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 24th day;
5. [_5(u) 1(asz) gu2 4(u) 6(disz) 5/6(disz) ma-na 3(disz) 1/2(disz) gin2 2(disz) sze u4 2(u) 5(disz)-kam_]
 en: 51 talents 46 5/6 minas 3 1/2 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 25th day;
6. [1(disz) me _4(u) 3(asz) gu2 3(u) 3(disz) 2/3(disz) ma-na 7(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 2(u) 6(disz)-kam_]
 en: 1 ‘hundred’ 43 talents 33 2/3 minas 7 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 26th day;
  error ‘me’ used as sexagesimal, not decimal marker (=60, not 100)
7. [3(disz) me _2(u) 7(asz) gu2 7(disz) 1/2(disz) ma-na 4(disz) gin2 8(disz) sze u4 2(u) 7(disz)-kam_]
 en: 3 ‘hundred’ 27 talents 7 1/2 minas 4 shekels 8 barley-corns in the 27th day;
  error ‘me’ used as sexagesimal, not decimal marker (=60, not 100)
8. [6(disz) me _5(u) 4(asz) gu2 1(u) 5(disz) ma-na 8(disz) gin2 1(u) 6(disz) sze u4 2(u) 8(disz)-kam_]
 en: 6 ‘hundred’ 54 talents 15 minas 8 shekels 16 barley-corns in the 28th day;
  error ‘me’ used as sexagesimal, not decimal marker (=60, not 100)
9. 1(disz) li-im 3(disz) me _4(u) 8(asz) gu2 3(u)# [ma-na] 1(u) 6(disz) gin2 igi 6(disz)-gal2 2(disz) sze u4 3(u) la2 1(disz@t)-kam_
 en: 1 ‘thousand’ 3 ‘hundred’ 48 talents 30 minas 16 1/6 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 29th day;
  errors ‘lim’ used as sexagesimal 600, not decimal 1000; ‘me’ used as sexagesimal 60, not decimal 100
10. 2(disz) li-im 7(disz) <me> _3(u) 7(asz) gu2 1/2(disz) ma-na 2(disz) 1/3(disz) gin2 4(disz) sze u4 3(u)-kam_
 en: 2 ‘thousand’ 7 ‘hundred’ 37 talents 1/2 mina 2 1/3 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 30th day.
  errors ‘lim’ used as sexagesimal 600, not decimal 1000; ‘me’ used as sexagesimal 60, not decimal 100
  final day ‘payment’ is approximately 51,700kg of silver, the equivalent of paying the salary of an unskilled Babylonian laborer for a period of 500,000 years

Text content

Genre(s) Scholarly or scientific > Mathematical (metro-mathematical)
Language(s)

Chronology

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

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P390441

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions 40.0 mm × 51.0 mm
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Mari (mod. Tell Hariri)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) National Museum of Syria, Der-ez-Zor, Syria
Museum Number NMSDeZ — ?
Accession Number M 08613

References

  • primary: RA 078 (pp. 19-48), 030-035, no. 06

    [Soubeyran1984RA78] Soubeyran, Denis. 1984. “Textes Mathématiques de Mari.” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale 78 (1): 19–48.

  • history: Unexpected Links, 14-18

    [Friberg2005Unexpected] Friberg, Jöran. 2005. Unexpected Links between Egyptian and Babylonian Mathematics. Hackensack, N.J. : World Scientific.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-09-16 at 16:05:50 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-06-08 at 08:42:52 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2017-09-07 at 12:19:01 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2015-05-05 at 10:19:50 CDLI Transliteration CDLI CDLI Approved View
2014-05-11 at 11:53:24 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2012-02-01 at 16:12:13 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2009-08-04 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact metadata CDLI CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“RA 078, 030-035, No. 06 Artifact Entry.” (2009) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 16, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P390441.
RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry (No. P390441). (2024, September 16). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P390441 (Original work published 2009)
RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P390441 (Accessed: May 13, 2026).
@misc{2024RA,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-13]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 16},
	title = {RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P390441},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P390441},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/16/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P390441
LB  - CDLI:P390441
M1  - 2026/5/13/
TI  - RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P390441
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“RA 078, 030-035, No. 06 Artifact Entry.” (2009) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 16, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P390441.
RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry (No. P390441). (2024, September 16). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P390441 (Original work published 2009)
RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P390441 (Accessed: May 13, 2026).
@misc{2024RA,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-13]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 16},
	title = {RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P390441},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P390441},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/16/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P390441
LB  - CDLI:P390441
M1  - 2026/5/13/
TI  - RA 078, 030-035, no. 06 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P390441
ER  -
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