Position in chronology
Erm 14335
Not yet translated
This tablet is catalogued with its transliteration and photographed, but no published translation exists yet. Our translation engine works through the untranslated corpus every night, oldest first — this page will update the day its turn comes. If you are a specialist and can read it, we would love your help.
From the same catalogue range (near P225743)
Translation · AI engine
read from photo50 persons (of the) si-U-NU(-type); 12 gab2-il2-fish; Lugal-me-gal-gal, the fisherman of A-ses: (for) the month of sheep-grass, barley of Ningirsu's temple — En-iggal, the overseer (nu-banda3), into the women's house has brought (it) in. (Sealed by) Bara-nam-tara, wife of Lugal-anda, governor of Lagash. 3 (tablets/entries).
8 uncertain terms ↓
- si-U-NU — The precise meaning of this designation for the 50 persons is unclear; it may be a professional title, ethnic designation, or institutional category. The sign U within SI-U-NU is uncertain in reading.
- gab2-il2 — A type of fish or a profession connected with fish; the exact species or role is debated in the literature.
- szu-ku6 — Literally 'hand of the fish(-pond/fishery)' — conventionally interpreted as 'fisherman'; the compound is well-attested in Lagashite texts but nuances of the role vary.
- a-ses-ke4 — A personal or institutional name in the genitive; 'A-ses' could be a personal name or a place/institution. The -ke4 marks genitive-agent. Identity not firmly established.
- iti udu-sze3 — Literally 'month of sheep-grass' or 'the barley-month of sheep'; interpretation as a month name is standard for Early Dynastic Lagash calendars, but the precise equivalence to a month number is debated.
- e2-munus-a — Literally 'house of the woman' or 'women's house'; could refer to the gynaeceum of the palace, or a specific institutional household managed by the governor's wife.
- 3(|ASZxDISZ@t|) — The final notation — three tally marks — may indicate three entries, three tablets in a dossier, or a summary count. Interpretation as a tablet/dossier number is plausible but not certain.
- nu-banda3 — Conventionally rendered 'overseer' or 'commander'; in the Lagashite administrative hierarchy it sits below the ensi2 and above ordinary foremen. Exact functional scope varies by context.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a small, lenticular tablet (museum number 14335 is legible on the label in the top panel) photographed from multiple angles: obverse, reverse, top edge, and two sides. The obverse (second image in the composite) is the most legible face: several clear wedge clusters are visible, arranged in two column registers separated by a ruled line, with approximately six to seven lines per register. Individual sign clusters are discernible — the large numeric notation in the top-left register, what appear to be fish-determinative signs (KU6) in the upper right, and personal name signs further down. The reverse (bottom large image) shows fewer lines, with sign clusters visible on the lower half — consistent with the short seal phrase and governor-title lines of the transliteration. The left and right edge views show a small number of signs consistent with an edge notation or overflow line. Photo resolution is insufficient to verify each individual sign reading, but the overall layout (two-column obverse, short reverse, lenticular format) is fully consistent with a Girsu Early Dynastic administrative tablet of this type. The transliteration is accepted as the primary source; photo broadly confirms its structure without contradicting it. The reading 'bara2-nam-tar-ra' (Bara-nam-tara) as wife of Lugal-anda governor of Lagash is consistent with the well-documented archive of this couple from Girsu (cf. Bauer, Altsumerische Wirtschaftstexte). The sign kux(DU) for 'bring in / deliver' is standard in Lagashite administrative texts. Cannot verify the precise sign forms of '5(u@c) sag si-U-NU' and 'gab2-il2' from the photo at this resolution.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 16, 2026 · 2446 in / 1288 out tokens
Transliteration
5(u@c) sag si-U-NU 1(u@c) 2(asz@c) gab2-il2 ku6 lugal-me-gal-gal szu-ku6 a-ses-ke4 iti udu-sze3 sze a nin-gir2-su-ka-ka en-ig-gal nu-banda3 e2-munus-a i3-kux(DU) bara2-nam-tar-ra dam lugal-an-da ensi2 lagasz-ka 3(|ASZxDISZ@t|)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — Erm 14335. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (P225743) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P225743..
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