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A curated narrative reconstruction of humanity's first great civilization, sourced from the tablets themselves. Open scholarship, beautifully accessible.

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Every tablet in the corpus — sortable by date, title or period; filterable by theme and period. Use the controls below or change the URL parameters directly.

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Religion & Myth Law Economy Astronomy & Mathematics Daily Life Writing & Literature

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Ubaid Uruk Period Early Dynastic Akkadian Empire Ur III · Neo-Sumerian Old Babylonian Old Assyrian Middle Babylonian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Neo-Babylonian Achaemenid Persian

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Editorial Sumerian literature Sumerian royal Assyrian royal Assyrian archives

Showing all 102,257 tablets.

101–150 of 102257

Page 3 / 2046

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 106, W 9656,ez

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 106, W 9656,ez. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 107, W 9656,ff

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 107, W 9656,ff. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Economy

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 109, W 9656,gb

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 109, W 9656,gb. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 110, W 9656,gg

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 110, W 9656,gg. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 111, W 9656,gs

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 111, W 9656,gs. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 7, pl. 007, W 19408,5

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 7, pl. 007, W 19408,5. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CUSAS 01, 002

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — CUSAS 01, 002. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CUSAS 01, 004

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — CUSAS 01, 004. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CUSAS 01, 005

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — CUSAS 01, 005. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CUSAS 01, 006

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — CUSAS 01, 006. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3007

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 3007. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3008

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 3008. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3161

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — MS 3161. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3163

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 3163. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3167

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — MS 3167. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 4484

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 4484. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 4530

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — MS 4530. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 5052

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 5052. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 026, W 7227,a

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 026, W 7227,a. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

ATU 5, pl. 081, W 9655,t

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 081, W 9655,t. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3162

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 3162. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 3166

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 3166. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 4552

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC) ?) — MS 4552. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Clay tablet, late Uruk period, 3300-3100 BCE. Proto-cuneiform signs, food issue list " rations" written by combining a human head and a bowl. Purchased via Christie's in 1989, with contribution from the British Museum Friends

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Clay tablet, late Uruk period, 3300-3100 BCE. Proto-cuneiform signs, food issue list " rations" written by combining a human head and a bowl (the triangular object…

Economy·Daily Life

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Clay tablet, record of barley and emmer. Late Uruk period, 3300-3100 BCE. Purchased via Christie's, no provenance

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Clay tablet, late Uruk period, 3300-3100 BCE. Emmer wheat is differentiated from barley by writing numbers with extra strokes. The proto-cuneiform signs document ba…

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Numerical and proto cuneiforms tablets - Oriental Institute

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Numerical tablet (left), numerical-ideographic tablet (center) and proto-cuneiform tablet (right), from the collections of the Oriental Institute of Chicago. Late Uruk perio…

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Pre-cuneiform writing tablet noting food ratios, Archives from the Temple of the Sky God, from Uruk (Irak), Late Uruk Period, around 3300 BC, Louvre Lens, France (26939082575)

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: The first documents written on clay tablets appeared in Uruk IV, around 3300 BC.

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto-cuneiform sexagesimal type Sa.svg

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Proto-cuneiform numeral signs base 60 and subbase 10, Type S^a according to the typology established by Nissen-Damerow-Englund, Archaic Bookkeeping, Chicago UP 1993

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto cuneiform sign for wool

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Proto-cuneiform sign SIG2. Depicts wool.

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto cuneiform sign for wool variant

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: proto cuneiform sign

~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto-Cuneiform Sign U+12033 APIN.svg

Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Proto-Cuneiform Sign U+12033 APIN

~3200 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto-Cuneiform Account Tablet

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.

Writing & Literature·Economy

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

ATU 7, pl. 084, W 22102,5+

40 [units], [container/storehouse with sun sign], open court, fish 20 [units], land/country — small, female, fish, [total/chief] 4 [units], fish, minister/courier, [approach/bring near] 2 [units], [reed+wood compound sign] 2 [units], [mixed?], day/sun 3 [units — damaged] [...], [...] 5 [units], cattle pen/fold 5 [units], [mixed?], day/sun, young man/male adult 2 [units], date-palm(?) 1 [unit] [...], [...]

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 183

[1] , [...]\n1 , [...] KAB[?]\n1 , NAM2 DI\n1 , NAM2 NAM2\n1 , [...]\n1 , NAM2 PA RAD\n1 , AB ME\n1 , GAL |N58.BAD|\n1 , EN [...]\n1 , [...]\n1 , [...]\n1 , [...]\n41 , X [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 184

[1] , [...] SUKKAL 1 , chief dairy-official [1] , [...] 1 , chief first-fruits official 1 , chief herdsman [1] , [chief] lord/master 1 , chief [...] 1 , clay/wind [...] [...] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 188

1(N01) , NAM-ESZDA 1(N01) , NAM2 KAB[?] 1(N01) , NAM2 DI 1(N01) , NAM2 NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 URU[?] 1(N01) , PA~a ŠE~a NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 RAD~a 1(N01) , AB~a ME~a[?] 1(N01) , GAL~a X 1(N01)[?] , EN[?] [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] [N] 1(N14) , EN~a 2(N57) [E2 ...]

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 194

1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] DI [variant] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] NAM2 [variant?] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] URU [city-sign variant] [1(N01)] , [...] NAM2 [variant] 1(N01) , barley(-sign) NAM2 [variant] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] RAD [variant] PA [overseer-sign] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , KINGAL 1(N01) , GAL [great/large] TE 1(N01) , SUKKAL [...] 41(N01) [N] , X [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000022, ex. 032

[1(N01)] , GISZ HI GISZ TUN3~a [1(N01)] , [GISZ] AD~a [1(N01)] , [...] 1(N01) , SI TAG~b GISZ [1(N01)] , [...] [N] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 098

[1] vessel, [...] [1] vessel — [DUG~b jar with unidentified sign] (uncertain) [1] vessel — [DUG~b jar with natron/soapwort sign] (very uncertain) 1 vessel — [DUG~b jar with unidentified sign] (uncertain) 1 (uncertain), [...] 1, GAN~c (?) [...] 1, GAN~c (?) [...] [N], [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000026, ex. 055

1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , URI[?] 1(N01) , MUD3~a[?] 1(N01) , MUD3@g 1(N01) , MIR~b 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N34) 2(N14) [...] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000026, ex. 056

1(N01) , [X — damaged/unclear sign] 1(N01) , SZAKIR~b 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , SZU2 GU 1(N01) , SZU2 GU [...] 1(N01) , GAL~a TUN3~a 1(N01) , 2(N57) SZU TUN3~a 1(N01) , 1(N57) SZU TUN3~a 1(N01) , AL [...]? 1(N01) , [...] 1(N34) 4(N01) , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000030, ex. 057

1(N01) , [...] X AD~a#? 5(N01) , MUNU3? 5(N01) , GAZI 1(N01) , [...] 1(N14) , SUHUR 1(N14) , KAR2~b 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , X [...] 1(N01) , [...] [N] , [...] X

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLJ 2009/4 §4

Obverse (face): [Top edge:] 1(N57) — salt 4(N14) 3(N01) — hoe/agricultural implement [AL] 1(N14) 1(N01) — [for/of] the lord (EN~a), junior [TUR] 5(N01) — [commodity marked by] |U4×1(N57)|, junior 1(N14) — [commodity marked by] |U4×2(N57)|, junior 1(N14) 6(N01) — [commodity marked by] |U4×3(N57)|, junior Summary/total line: 1(N34) 2(N14) 5(N01) — [grand total] — 1(N57) 2(N57) salt; [commodity] SU~a; elder/supervisor [PAP~a]; |1(N58).BAD~a|; SI; AN; AD~a; GIR~a

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CMAA 020-C0003

[...] 1(N01), [...] X X 1(N01), goat (MASZ2) [processed/fashioned?] (ZATU628~a DIM~a) female (SAL) 1(N01), [NUN~b category] [processed/fashioned?] (DIM~a) 1(N01), [NUN~b category] ration/bread? (GAR) head/person (SAG) [unidentified sign] (ZATU694~c) [...], [...] [...] 6(N01), [...]

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 015

5(N34) 4(N14) — ERIM~a (male workers), KA2~a (gate/portal) 2(N14) 2(N01) — KA2~a (gate), SZU (received/in hand of) 2(N34) — DU, |ZATU737xBUR~a| 3(N34) — URU~a1 (city), ZATU659, KA2~a (gate) 2(N34) — [...] KA2~a (gate) 3(N34) — [...] KA2~a (gate) 1(N51) 1(N14) — |6(N57).KU3~a| (silver/precious metal) 1(N34) 2(N14) — GISZ3~a, KA2~a (gate) KA2~a (gate) 1(N48) 9(N34) 2(N14) 2(N01) — BA (disbursed), NI~a, KA2~a (gate)

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 016

1(N34), 1(N58) UR5~a 1(N57) , URI 3(N57) , date-palm [and] SI [...] , LA2 SUG5 [...] , plant(s) [...] , ZATU759 1(N57) , linen / GADA~a NA2~a 1(N57) , SZU2 female [worker] BAR 1(N34), 1(N58) 3(N57) , plant(s) NAM~a X , 3(N57) plant(s) 1(N57) , ZATU802~b [account:] SZU SZU APIN~a BU~a PAP~a NAM2 IM~a DUR2 SZAGAN

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 017

[...] [...] 2(N01) PAP~a DAR~b 2(N01) NAGA~a [...] [...] SAL [...] [...] 2(N01) EN~a 1(N04) 1(N01) NU11 AN [...] [...] [...] [...] 4(N01) LAL2~a 1(N01) UR~a

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 019

1 unit, AN NU11 [1 unit], X MU 1 unit, X PAP~a ME~a 1 unit, |(BU~a&BU~a).NA2~a| SHA ME~a 1 unit, LAGAB~b X BU~a 1 unit, AL 1 unit, ZATU725 [1 unit], [...] 1 unit, [...] SZITA~a1 1 unit, [...] 1 unit, woman GA2~a1 GI 1 unit, sanga [...] 1 unit, nail/peg GISZ [...], [...] 1 (large unit) 4 units, reed(s) storehouse NU11@t NUN~a DU A

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 021

1(N22) [large unit], ADAB 3(N01), [uncertain sign X] 1(N01), ERIN KAB 1(N01), GAN2 ISZ~b 2(N14) [= 2 tens], UDU~a [sheep] 3(N01), APIN~a EN~a [plow-team / EN official] 1(N01), SUG5# MAR~a ZATU752 1(N01), HI EN~a 1(N01), APIN~a GAN2 2(N14) [= 2 tens], AN TE 1(N01), SAL DARA4~a1 [female ibex / female animal] ZATU851

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CUSAS 01, 025

[...], field (GAN2), EN-official, interior/heart (ŠA3), [AN?], mother (AMA), crown/tiara (MEN), given/deposited (RU), water/offspring (A) [...] 4(N14), [...] EN-official, X, received/in hand (ŠU), field (GAN2) 2(N50) 3(N14), vessel-measure (|SILA3~a×DUG~a|) [...], [...] [...], [...] [...] 2(N14), [...] [...], [...] [...] 2(N14), [...] ZATU788, woman/female (SAL), [AN], egg/seed/offspring (NUNUZ~a1)