Position in chronology
DP 266
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P220916.
Translation · AI engine
read from photo6 sila of lard (pig fat): its name is the 3rd [installment/ration]; Girinibadab [is responsible]. 13 sila for Nin-e-an-su: to be received by Girinibadab; it is available/on hand. From that (amount): 10 sila of lard has been brought out from there — 3rd [installment].
6 uncertain terms ↓
- i3 szah2 — Literally 'fat of pig' — rendered as 'lard'; the precise product (rendered fat, fresh fat, or oil) is debated, but 'lard/pig fat' is the standard translation in Girsu administrative texts.
- i3 mu-ni 3(disz@t)-kam — 'Its name is the 3rd' — this phrase marks the third in a series of installments or ration issues. 'mu-ni' can mean 'its name' or function as a deictic label marker in early administrative Sumerian. Some scholars read this as a date or sequence marker rather than a literal 'name.'
- giri3-ni-ba-dab5 — Personal name, literally 'he seized his footstep/path' — the name of the responsible official. The reading is standard for Girsu ED texts but the name element giri3 (foot/path) plus ni-ba-dab5 admits slight phonological variation in sign choice.
- e-da-gal2 — 'It is present/available with [him/her]' — a standard phrase in ED Girsu texts indicating that the commodity is on hand and accounted for. Alternative: 'it is held together with [it]'.
- e-ma-ta-de6 — Verbal chain: 'it has been brought out from there' — the prefix chain e-ma-ta- marks motion outward from an interior/source. Confident reading but the precise nuance of 'from there' vs. 'therefrom' depends on context.
- 3(|ASZxDISZ@t|) — The notation at the end of the tablet for a third installment or sequence marker, written with the complex sign ASZ times DISZ with superscript t (a tally marker). Standard in early Dynastic Girsu administrative documents.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a composite display of several clay tablet pieces bearing the museum number AO 13474; the central piece is the main tablet face. The wedge impressions are visible in two registers separated by a horizontal line, with further text on the oblong edge pieces (the 'case' envelope fragments that surround the inner tablet). The resolution is moderate: individual signs on the main face are discernible — I can make out numeral clusters (the large Winkelhaken groups corresponding to 6 and 10+3 sila), and signs consistent with i3, sza(h2), and compound verbal chains in the lower register. The transliteration's structure matches the two-register layout visible in the photo. The side pieces carry additional text (likely the edge lines of the envelope), consistent with the full transliteration provided. I cannot verify every individual sign from the photo at this resolution, particularly the personal name Girinibadab and Nin-e-an-su in detail. 'i3 szah2' (lard/pig fat) is a well-attested Early Dynastic commodity term from Girsu. 'sila3' is the standard capacity measure (~1 litre). The verbal forms 'e-ma-ta-de6' (has been brought out from there) and 'e-da-gal2' (it is present/available) are standard early Dynastic Sumerian administrative idioms. The reading '3(|ASZxDISZ@t|)' for the 3rd installment/occurrence marker at the end is standard for these texts.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 16, 2026 · 2218 in / 1176 out tokens
Transliteration
6(asz@c) sila3 i3 szah2 i3 mu-ni 3(disz@t)-kam giri3-ni-ba-dab5 1(u@c) 3(asz@c) sila3 nin-e-an-su giri3#-[ni]-ba-dab5#-da e-da-gal2 sza3-bi-ta 1(u@c) sila3 i3 szah2 e-ma-ta-de6 3(|ASZxDISZ@t|)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — DP 266. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P220916) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P220916..
Related tablets
Related sources
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.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.