Position in chronology
LB 2360 & LB 0285
About this tablet
This is a small Ur III administrative tablet from Girsu (modern Tello), a balanced barley account — the standard 'nig2-ka9 ak' type of record produced by the highly bureaucratic Ur III state around 2000 BCE. It records a remaining balance of barley owed or on hand, verified and sealed by an official named Ur-Baba, son of Ur-Idina, who is later identified as a scribe. The date formula, referring to Simurrum and Lullubum having been destroyed 'for the 9th time,' anchors it to the reign of King Shulgi, whose military campaigns against these Zagros mountain peoples were commemorated in the naming of successive years — a vivid reminder of how ordinary bookkeeping and royal warfare were woven into the same calendar.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet records an audited balance: 27 gur, 1 barig, 6 1/3 sila, and 1 shekel of barley (measured by the royal standard) remains outstanding on the books. The account was checked and closed out under the responsibility of Ur-Baba, son of Ur-Idina. The same entry is repeated a second time, now bearing Ur-Baba's seal, confirming the same barley balance. Both entries are dated to 'the year after' the year King Shulgi's forces destroyed Simurrum and Lullubum for the ninth time — that is, the following regnal year. A closing note identifies Ur-Baba, son of Ur-Idina, as the scribe responsible, though part of his title is broken away.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine27 gur, 1 barig, 6 1/3 sila, 1 shekel barley, royal measure — the remaining balance (si'tum), account audited. Ur-Baba, son of Ur-Idina. Year following: "Simurrum (and) Lullubu [were destroyed for the ...th time]" — a-ra2 [...] 27 gur, 1 barig, 6 1/3 sila, 1 shekel barley, royal measure — the remaining balance, account audited. Seal of Ur-Baba, son of Ur-Idina. Year following: "Simurrum (and) Lullubu were destroyed for the 9th time (10 minus 1)." [Ur]-Baba, [scribe], [son of] Ur-Idina.
Our translation engine — Sonnet 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
2(u) 7(asz) 1(barig) 6(disz) 1/3(disz) sila3 1(disz) gin2 sze gur lugal KU si-i3-tum nig2-ka9 ak# ur-ba-ba6 dumu ur-i7-edin-na mu us2-sa si-mu-ur4-ru-um lu#-lu#-bu# a#-ra2 [...] 2(u) 7(asz) 1(barig) 6(disz) 1/3(disz) sila3 1(disz) gin2 sze gur lugal KU si-i3-tum nig2-ka9 ak kiszib3 ur-ba-ba6 dumu ur-i7-edin-na mu us2-sa si-mu-ur4-ru-um lu-lu-bu a-ra2 1(u) la2 1(disz)-kam-asz ba-hul [ur]-ba-ba6 [dub]-sar [dumu] ur-i7-edin-[na]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — LB 2360 & LB 0285. 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).
Attribution
Image: LB 2360 & LB 0285 (de Liagre Böhl Collection, Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden, Holland) — from Girsu (mod. Tello) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P388814). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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