Position in chronology
OSP 2, 116
About this tablet
A small account tablet from Nippur in southern Iraq, written under the kings of Akkad in the later 24th or 23rd century BCE. It tallies onions — a staple seasoning — issued over two consecutive months for making soup, plus a further quantity that served as the regular offering to Ninurta, the city's great god, and as 'table onions' for the governor's own kitchen. It is a glimpse of how one city's administration kept the temple and the ruler's household supplied with the same humble vegetable.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
In the third month (the 'brick in the mould' month) the kitchen drew 150 liters of sikil-onions for soup, plus another 30 liters of sikil-onions and 30 liters of crushed onions. In the fourth month ('sowing' month) exactly the same amounts went out again. On top of that, 120 liters of onions were the regular offering for the god Ninurta, and a further lot of onions went to the table. All of this is charged to the governor's account.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1. 2 barig 3 ban of sikil-onions for soup; 2. 3 ban of sikil-onions, 3 ban of crushed onions: 3. month "Brick placed in the mould" (iti sig₄-u₅-šub-ba-gar). 4. 2 barig 3 ban of sikil-onions for soup; 5. 3 ban of sikil-onions, 3 ban <of crushed onions>: 6. month "Sowing" (iti šu-numun). 7. 2 barig, regular offerings 8. (for) Ninurta; 9. onions for the table — 10. (these are) of the governor.
Our translation engine — Fable 5.1. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Transliteration
2(barig) 3(ban2) szum2-sikil tu7 3(ban2@c) szum2-sikil 3(ban2@c) szum2 gaz iti sig4 u5-szub-ba gar 2(barig) 3(ban2) szum2-sikil tu7 3(ban2@c) szum2-sikil 3(ban2@c) <szum2 gaz> iti szu-numun 2(barig@c) sa2-du11 nin-urta szum2 banszur ensi2-kam
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Akkadian (ca. 2340-2200 BC)) — OSP 2, 116. This record has no stored scholarly English translation; the existence of published translations has not been checked; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P216270) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved).
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