MDP 06, 220

~3000 BCE·Uruk Period·P008019

Translation · reference

Experimental

Source: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P008019.

Translation · AI engine

read from photo

Low confidence

[Heading/category sign M157] [Sign complex: M195+M038 | M218+M288 | M288]: 1(N34) 9(N14) [Sign complex: M195+M038(?) | M218+M288 | M288]: 1(N34) 1(N45) [Sign complex: M195+M038(?) | M218+M288 | M288]: 2(N34) 3(N14) 3(N01) [Sign M218 — subtotal/category marker] [Sign M288 — total marker]: 4(N34) 2(N45)[?] 2(N14) 3(N01)

5 uncertain terms ↓

M157 — Unidentified proto-cuneiform heading/category sign; its commodity or institutional reference is not yet established with certainty for Susa tablets of this period.
M195+M038 | M218+M288 | M288 — These are compound proto-cuneiform sign complexes. Their precise referent (a commodity, ration type, or institutional category) remains debated; the sign readings follow CDLI/ATU sign-list conventions.
N34, N45, N14, N01 — Numerical signs in what may be a bisexagesimal or sexagesimal system. N34 is a large impressed circle (high-order unit), N45 a specific sub-unit sign; exact values depend on which numerical system (S, Š, or other) applies to this commodity category, which is uncertain.
M218 — Appears as a subtotal or section-divider sign in this context; its precise administrative function is inferred from parallels but not independently confirmed.
2(N45)# — The '#' damage marker in the transliteration indicates this reading is uncertain due to surface damage; cannot verify independently from the photograph.

Reasoning ↓

The photograph shows two views of a small, roughly rectangular clay tablet (museum number Sb 15087, Louvre) in a beige-buff fabric with visible surface cracking and a diagonal break repaired or visible across the middle of the main face. The upper image shows the obverse: I can make out groups of deep, round impressed holes (the numerical signs N01, N14, N34, N45 type impressions in the sexagesimal/bisexagesimal system) and incised or impressed pictographic sign complexes arranged in horizontal registers separated by ruled lines, consistent with the transliteration's layout. A cluster of approximately 7–9 large circular impressions is visible in the left register of the second or third entry, consistent with '9(N14)' in line 2. The lower image appears to be the reverse, which is largely plain or carries only faint traces and a few small impressed dots and short strokes — possibly numerical entries or a blank reverse. Overall preservation is moderate: surface erosion obscures fine wedge detail and makes individual sign identification within the complex sign groups (M195+M038, M218+M288) difficult to confirm independently from the photo alone. The transliteration follows standard CDLI proto-cuneiform conventions for Uruk-period Susa tablets (cf. MDP 06 corpus, Damerow & Englund). The damage marker '#?' on lines 3–4 is consistent with the visible surface erosion in the photo. The total line (M288 with the summed numerical expression 4(N34) 2(N45) 2(N14) 3(N01)) cannot be independently verified from the photo at this resolution.

Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 14, 2026 · 1854 in / 1070 out tokens

Why it matters

Transliteration

M157 ,
|M195+M038| |M218+M288| M288 , 1(N34) 9(N14)
|M195+M038|#? |M218+M288| M288 , 1(N34) 1(N45)
|M195+M038|#? |M218+M288| M288 , 2(N34) 3(N14) 3(N01)
M218 ,
M288 , 4(N34) 2(N45)# 2(N14) 3(N01)

Scholarly note

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 06, 220. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Attribution

Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P008019) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P008019..

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