Position in chronology
MLVS 004
About this tablet
This is a tiny pillow-shaped administrative tablet from Girsu (ancient Lagash), dated to the Early Dynastic IIIb period, roughly the 24th century BCE. It records a disbursement of ten gur of barley — measured by the 'sag-gal' capacity standard — connected to a storehouse called 'E-gišubidu' and to Lugalanda, who is very likely the historical ruler of the city-state of Lagash (husband of the administrator Baranamtara, predecessor of Uruinimgina/Irikagina). The barley was set aside for a brewer, showing the routine bookkeeping by which the palace or temple household provisioned craft specialists like brewers with raw grain.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This little clay receipt records that ten gur of barley — measured out by the standard 'large-head' unit — was, along with a further outstanding portion, drawn from a storehouse called 'House of Good Shade,' under the authority of Lugalanda. The grain was allotted to a brewer: the scribe notes that it was 'set out' for him, that is, formally issued from the store. A final number, '4,' closes the entry, probably a subtotal or notation in the account's own numeral system. It is a short, routine ration voucher of the kind by which the ruler's household supplied its craftsmen with raw materials.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine10 gur barley, sag-gal measure (i.e. of the 'large-head' capacity standard) — as much as its portion (bar) is (still) outstanding/available — Lugalanda — (from/of) the storehouse 'E-gišubidu' ("House-whose-shade-is-good") — to the man, the brewer — he set (it) out for him. 4 (notation).
Our translation engine — Sonnet 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
1(u@c) sze gur saggal bar-bi gal2-sze3 lugal-an-da e2-gissu-bi-du10 lu2 lungax(|BIxNIG2|)-ra e-na-ta-gar 4(|ASZxDISZ@t|)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — MLVS 004. 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: de Liagre Böhl Collection, Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden, Holland (P247601) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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