Cuneiform Tablet
2042 BCE
Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BCE)
1 1/8 x 1 x 7/16 in. (2.8 x 2.5 x 1.1 cm)
Unknown, Sumerian
Sumerian
Object Type:
Ceramics
Medium and Support:
Clay
Credit Line:
Gift of the University of Rochester
Accession Number:
1970.131
Location: Currently on view
Ur III, Drehem AS 4 vii 16; Transfer of lambs from Abbasaga to Intaea, as per Marcel Sigrist, "Documents from Tablet Collections in Rochester New York," 1991
Ur used other number signs. The first two lines here read "7 lambs the 16th day."
The sign for "lamb" is a stylized picture of a sheep pen. "7" is written with seven small vertical wedges. "16" is one deep wedge (10) with six small wedges.
The whole receipt reads: "7 lambs on the 17th day from Abbashaga, Intaea received [them]. [Month of the] feast of Shulgi, [year] the high priestess of Nanna was installed." Shulgi was Ur III's second king. Nanna, the moon-god, was Ur's patron god and his high priestess was one of Ur's most prominent figures. The tablet dates from the reign of Shulgi's successor Amar-Sin.
[Adapted from gallery label text]