Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

Ur-Namma the canal-digger (Ur-Namma D)

~1800 BCE·Old Babylonian

Translation · reference

High confidence
Who will dig it? Who will dig it? Who will dig the Asilal-kug canal? Who will dig the Pabi-luh canal? ...... Ur-Namma will dig it. ...... will dig it. ......, ...... Acimbabbar you are on your ...... because of Enlil. The watercourse of ...... is full of fish, and the air above is full of birds. The fresh water of ...... is full of fish, the air above is full of birds. ...... honey-plants are planted, and the carp grow fat. ...... honey-plants are planted, and the carp grow fat. The gizi reed of ...... is so sweet that the fish eat them. The gizi reed of ...... is so sweet that the fish eat them. Since my ...... was founded, it is teeming with fish and birds. Since ...... was founded, it is teeming with fish and birds.

Source: ETCSL c.2.4.1.4: Ur-Namma the canal-digger (Ur-Namma D). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.4.1.4

Why it matters

Transliteration

Scholarly note

Composition c.2.4.1.4 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.

Attribution

Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.2.4.1.4: Ur-Namma the canal-digger (Ur-Namma D). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.4.1.4.

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