Erišum I 03

LAYER 1 — Visual examination: The tablet is a large, roughly square clay tablet held at the British Museum (colour scale visible bottom left). The surface is heavily weathered and eroded, particularly in the lower-left quadrant where a thick accretion of dark material obscures the signs almost entirely. The upper portion shows faint horizontal register lines and scattered wedge impressions, but individual sign values are very difficult to distinguish at this resolution and preservation state. The right side retains some readable horizontal strokes and possible vertical wedges. The lower-right carries a series of parallel diagonal/horizontal grooves that may be ruling lines rather than text. Overall the surface is too damaged and the resolution too low for confident independent sign-by-sign reading. LAYER 2 — Transliteration: The text identifies Erišum I (Old Assyrian king, ca. 1974–1935 BCE, son of Ilušuma) as ÉNSI (iššiakku, 'vice-regent') of Aššur; describes building activity for the god Aššur; and records the dedication of two cauldrons and two bronze birds of one talent each placed at their bases. The catalog metadata labels this 'Old Babylonian' but the content and royal name firmly place it in the Old Assyrian period (Erišum I). CROSS-CHECK: The photo cannot be used to verify individual sign readings due to heavy erosion and low resolution; most of the sign clusters visible in the photo are consistent in general layout with a multi-line inscription of this length, but no specific signs can be confirmed against the transliteration. The word ḫubūrēn (dual of ḫubūru, 'cauldron/vessel') and the dedication formula are standard Old Assyrian royal inscription conventions (cf. RIMA 1, A.0.33.3). The 'period' field in the catalog ('old-babylonian') appears to be a metadata error; the text is Old Assyrian.