MSVO 1, 001 (P005068)

Administrative tablet excavated in Uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr), dated to the Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC) period and now kept in Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK

Cite

Photo

Lineart

Photo (detail)

Lineart (detail)

Museum Collection(s)

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK

Museum Number

Ashm 1926-0561

Period

Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)

Provenience

uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Administrative

Language(s)

Undetermined

Measurements

104.0 mm × 87.0 mm × 28.0 mm

Text

tablet
obverse
column 1
1.a. 2(N50) 4(N14)# 4(N01) , GAN2# |SZE~a&SZE~a|# GAL~a SZAB~a
en: 25 bur3 4 iku field, in barley, of the chief exchange agent,
1.b. 2(N14)# , GURUSZ~a SAL
en: 2 bur3, male and female laborers,
1.c. 4(N50)# 7(N14)# [N] , GAN2 KI A
en: 47(+) bur3 field, irrigated;
2.a. 3(N50)#? 2(N22) 4(N01) , |SZE~a&SZE~a| GAN2# GIR3@g~b# PA~a
en: 30 bur3 2 eše3 4 iku field, in barley, of the equid herder,
2.b. 2(N14) , GURUSZ~a SAL
en: 2 bur3, male and female laborers,
2.c. 4(N50) 2(N14) 1(N22) 5(N01) , GAN2 KI# A#
en: 42 bur3 1 eše3 5 iku field, irrigated;
3.a. 3(N50)# [...] 1(N14) 1(N01) , |SZE~a&SZE~a| BA [GAN2] NAM2# DI#
en: 31(+) bur3 1 iku field, in barley, of the chief justice,
3.b. 4(N14) , GURUSZ~a# [SAL]
en: 4 bur3, male and female laborers,
3.c. 3(N50)# 8(N14)# 1(N22)# 2(N01) , GAN2# KI# A#
en: 38 bur3 1 eše3 2 iku field, irrigated;
column 2
1.a. [2(N50) N] , [|SZE~a&SZE~a| GAN2] EN~c# SAL#
en: 20(+) field, in barley, of the wife of the lord,
1.b. [2(N14) N?] , [GURUSZ~a SAL]
en: 2(+) bur3, male and female laborers,
1.c. [N] , [GAN2 KI A]
en: ... field, irrigated;
2.a. 1(N50) [n?] 4(N14) 2(N22)# , |SZE~a&SZE~a|# ME~a# |NI~a.RU|
en: 14(+) bur3 2 eše3 field, in barley, of the priest of NIRU (Jemdet Nasr),
2.b. 2(N14)# [n?] , GURUSZ~a# SAL#
en: 2 bur3 ... male and female laborers,
2.c. [N] , [GAN2 KI A]
en: ... field, irrigated;
3. , U4 |NI~a.RU| A#? KI BU~a AB~a#
en: ... of NIRU, measured fields of the households;
reverse
column 1
1. [1(N45)] 5(N50)# [N] , [GAN2 |SZE~a&SZE~a|]
en: 1 šar2 50 ... bur3 field, in barley,
calculation: total of all “fields in barley”
2. 1(N50)# [2(N14) n] , [GURUSZ~a SAL]
en: 12(+) bur3, male and female laborers,
calculation: total of all “fields of laborers”
3. 3(N45)# 2(N50)# 5(N14)# [N] , [GAN2 KI A]
en: 3 šar2 25(+) bur3 field, irrigated;
calculation: total of all “irrigated fields”
column 2
1. 5(N45)# 3(N50)# 4(N14)# 3(N01) , LAGAB~b GAN2 BU~a KI |NI~a.RU| AB~a APIN~a#
en: 5 šar2 34 bur3 3 iku, total field, measured land of NIRU, agricultural household.
calculation in bur3: 110(+) + 12(+) + 205(+) = 334 bur3 3 iku (only 7 bur3 missing)

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)
Consult word list of Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Administrative
Language(s)	Undetermined

Chronology

Period	Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P005068
Permalink	https://cdli.network/entity/P005068

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions	104.0 mm × 87.0 mm × 28.0 mm
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr)
Written In
Excavation Number	Ashm 1926,561
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
Museum Number	Ashm 1926-0561
Accession Number

References

primary: MSVO 1, 1

[Englund1991MSVO1] Englund, Robert K., Jean-Pierre Grégoire, and Roger J. Matthews. 1991. The Proto-Cuneiform Texts from Jemdet Nasr. I: Copies, Transliterations and Glossary. Materialien Zu Den Frühen Schriftzeugnissen Des Vorderen Orients (MSVO), Band 1. Berlin: Gebr. Mann.

104x87x28 - badly preserved surface measurement text - discussed by P. Steinkeller, Jb. f. Wirtschaftsgeschichte 1987/S, 13ff. - note the complex tablet format with relations between plots qualified by SZEa+SZEa, laborers SAL and GURU∞a and further plots qua
history: Englund, OBO 160/1, p. 212 fig. 87

[Englund1998OBO160/1] Englund, Robert K. 1998. “Texts from the Late Uruk Period.” In Annäherungen 1: Mesopotamien. Späturuk-Zeit Und Frühdynastische Zeit, edited by Pascal Attinger and Markus Wäfler, 13–233. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/1. Freiburg Schweiz: Universitätsverlag.

copy
history: AfO 44/45 (pp. 1-58), 28ff

[Friberg1997AfO44] Friberg, Jöran. 1997/98. “Round and Almost Round Numbers in Proto-Literate Metro-Mathematical Field Texts.” Archiv Für Orientforschung 44/45: 1–58.

discussion of text
history: OECT 7, 28

[Langdon1928OECT7] Langdon, Stephen H. 1928. The H. Weld-Blundell Collection in the Ashmolean Museum. Pictographic Inscriptions from Jemdet Nasr, Excavated by the Oxford and Field Museum Expedition. Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts, Vol. 7. London: Oxford University Press.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Reviewer	Status
2024-06-08 at 08:38:45	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard	Firth, Richard	Approved
2018-02-12 at 09:17:21	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2014-09-28 at 17:40:46	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2014-09-28 at 17:13:38	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved
2007-02-02 at 15:13:18	Dahl, Jacob L.	Transliteration	Dahl, Jacob L.	CDLI	Approved
2006-10-12 at 12:12:59	CDLI	Transliteration	CDLI	CDLI	Approved
2001-12-04 at 00:00:00	CDLI	Artifact metadata	Englund, Robert K.	CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifacts

“MSVO 1, 001 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 8, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P005068.

MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry (No. P005068). (2024, June 8). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P005068 (Original work published 2001)

MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P005068 (Accessed: April 8, 2026).

@misc{2024MSVO,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-08]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jun 8},
	title = {MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P005068},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P005068},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/6/8/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P005068
LB  - CDLI:P005068
M1  - 2026/4/8/
TI  - MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P005068
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“MSVO 1, 001 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 8, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P005068.

MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry (No. P005068). (2024, June 8). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P005068 (Original work published 2001)

MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P005068 (Accessed: April 8, 2026).

@misc{2024MSVO,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-04-08]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jun 8},
	title = {MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P005068},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P005068},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/6/8/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P005068
LB  - CDLI:P005068
M1  - 2026/4/8/
TI  - MSVO 1, 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P005068
ER  -