Position in chronology
MVN 05, 079
About this tablet
A receipt from the city of Umma in southern Iraq, dated to the sixth year of King Shu-Suen of the Third Dynasty of Ur (around 2031 BCE). It records nearly five thousand bundles of reed — a vital everyday material for fuel, matting, baskets, and construction — delivered into a storehouse at the harbor front, under a named foreman and sealed by the scribe Akalla. Tablets like this show how meticulously the Ur III state tracked even humble commodities, down to the packing ratio of bundles per bale.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Received into the harbor-front warehouse: 4,890 bundles of reeds, packed twelve bundles to a bale. The work crew was supervised by the foreman Ur-amma, and the delivery was confirmed under the seal of Akalla. Dated to the year King Shu-Suen erected the great stele for the gods Enlil and Ninlil (his sixth year on the throne). The scribe's seal identifies him: Akalla, scribe, son of Lu-saga.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine4,890 bundles of reed, at 12 bundles per bale, brought into the storehouse facing the quay. Foreman: Ur-amma. Seal of Akalla. Year: "Shu-Suen, the king, erected the great stele for Enlil (and) Ninlil." (Seal inscription:) Akalla, scribe, son of Lu-sa[ga].
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
1(szar2) 2(gesz'u) 1(gesz2) 3(u) sa gi gu-nigin2-ba 1(u) 2(disz) sa-ta ga2-nun gaba kar-ra kux(KWU147)-ra ugula ur-am3-ma kiszib3 a-kal-la mu szu-suen lugal na-ru2-a en-lil2 nin-lil2 mu-ne-[du3] a-kal-la dub-sar dumu lu2-sa6-[ga]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — MVN 05, 079. 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). [year-name] Dated to Šu-Suen y1 — Šu-Suen became king based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Anonymous 114299 (private: anonymous, unlocated) — from Umma (mod. Tell Jokha) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P114299). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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