Position in chronology
CUSAS 35, 207
About this tablet
An Early Dynastic account from Adab (modern Bismaya, southern Iraq), written around the 24th century BCE. It lists six named men — an overseer, a cook, and four others — together with the amount of copper, measured in minas, that each of them is charged with: a little over 62 minas in all, roughly 31 kilograms of metal. The last lines classify the whole lot as surplus copper and name Inim-zida as the commissioner responsible for the transaction. Copper had to be imported into Sumer, so even modest quantities like these were worth putting in writing under a named official.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Copper account. Az, the overseer: 21 minas. Lugal-ḫul: 20½. Lugal-nig-bara-du: 10½. Lugal-ezem, the cook: 4. Ama-abzu-si: 3½. E-ki: 3. All of this is copper booked as surplus, and Inim-zida signed off on it as the responsible officer. The back of the tablet was left blank.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine21 minas of copper — Az, the overseer. 20½ (minas) — Lugal-ḫul. 10½ (minas) — Lugal-nig-bara-du. 4 (minas) — Lugal-ezem, the cook. 3½ (minas) — Ama-abzu-si. 3 (minas) — E-ki. (This is) the copper brought forth as surplus. Inim-zida is its commissioner (maškim). (Reverse: uninscribed)
Our translation engine — Opus 5. 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.
Engine notes
read from photo7 uncertain terms ↓
- uruda ma-na — 'Copper minas' — uruda is the standard Sumerian word for copper/bronze; ma-na is the mina (ca. 500g). The commodity is clearly copper weighed in minas, though in some Early Dynastic contexts uruda can encompass bronze alloys.
- az (|ZA.PIRIG|) — The sign combination |ZA.PIRIG| is read 'az' here as a personal name element. The reading and the precise phonetic value of this compound sign in Early Dynastic personal names remains debated in the literature.
- nu-banda3 — Standard rendering 'captain' or 'military officer'; also translated 'overseer' or 'superintendent' in some administrative contexts. The precise hierarchical rank relative to other officers varies by period and institution.
- lugal-nig2-bara4-du10 — Personal name meaning approximately 'the king / the good throne-dais goes forth.' The element bara4 (throne-dais/cultic platform) makes this a theophoric or honorific name; interpretation as a personal name is secure.
- an-ta-e3-am3 — Literally 'it is that which came out from above/the upper [place].' Standardly interpreted as an issue from an elevated storehouse or from the main institutional store. The precise architectural or administrative referent is uncertain.
- maszkim-bi — 'Its maszkim' — the maszkim is a supervisory/responsible official, sometimes translated 'bailiff,' 'commissioner,' or 'agent.' The -bi suffix ('its') indicates this person is the official responsible for this specific transaction.
- inim-zi-da — Personal name meaning 'true/righteous word' or 'good command.' Securely a personal name; functions here as the named responsible official (maszkim) for the disbursement.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a well-preserved, lentil-shaped tablet of the Early Dynastic type, approximately 5–6 cm wide based on the ruler visible in the image. The obverse displays six clearly ruled horizontal lines dividing entries into two columns, consistent with the columnar layout implied by the transliteration. Wedge impressions are crisp and legible in the central image: the large curved numeral signs (u@c, asz@c) are visible in the left column, and personal name elements and title signs are visible in the right column, broadly confirming the transliteration. The top edge shows additional signs consistent with the header line. The reverse (bottom large image) appears largely uninscribed, which is normal for short administrative tablets of this type. The left edge shows a few signs that correspond to the edge/case notation visible in the transliteration. I cannot verify with full confidence every individual sign — particularly the personal names Lugal-hul2, Lugal-nig2-bara4-du10, Ama-ab-zu-si, and E-ki — at the resolution provided, but no clear discrepancy between photo and transliteration is visible. The phrase 'an-ta-e3-am3' (lit. 'that which came out from above/the upper [storehouse]') is a standard Early Dynastic Sumerian formula for goods issued from storage. 'Nu-banda3' is the standard Early Dynastic title for a military/administrative officer, here rendered 'captain.' 'Maszkim' is the well-attested term for a supervisory or responsible official in Ur III and earlier administrative contexts.
Generated by Claude Sonnet 4.6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 16, 2026 · 2343 in / 1255 out tokens
Transliteration
2(u@c) 1(asz@c) uruda ma-na az(|ZA.PIRIG|) nu-banda3 2(u@c) 1/2(disz@c) lugal-hul2 1(u@c) 1/2(disz@c) lugal-nig2-bara4-du10 4(asz@c) lugal-ezem muhaldim 3(asz@c) 1/2(disz@c) ama-ab-zu-si 3(asz@c) e-ki uruda an-ta-e3-am3 inim-zi-da maszkim-bi
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC) ?) — CUSAS 35, 207. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway (P252873) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
A window into the world's first total state. The Ur III administration tracked every animal, every worker, every shekel — for a population in the millions. The level of paperwork was not exceeded until the modern era.