Position in chronology
MDP 26S, 5038
About this tablet
A very early administrative tablet from Susa (southwestern Iran), dating to the Uruk period — roughly 3300–3000 BCE, making it among the oldest writing in the world. It records quantities (at least two entries each marked with the numeral '2') under a heading sign whose commodity is not yet fully understood, in the proto-Elamite or proto-cuneiform script used by early Susian scribes. The tablet is broken and fragmentary, with several signs and entries lost to damage. Documents like this represent the very beginning of bureaucratic record-keeping: ancient accountants tracking goods, rations, or animals at a large institutional centre.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Translation · reference
Low confidence[Heading/category sign M157] [Signs M038, M381, M388, M338 ...] [...] [...] [Signs M242, M380, M048, M218] , 2 [...] , 2 [Sign M254] [Sign M380] x [...] , [...]
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-12/v4-interpretation)
Translation · AI engine
read from photo[Heading/category sign M157] [Signs M038, M381, M388, M338 ...] [...] [...] [Signs M242, M380, M048, M218] , 2 [...] , 2 [Sign M254] [Sign M380] x [...] , [...]
6 uncertain terms ↓
- M157~a — Proto-cuneiform/proto-Elamite heading sign; commodity or institutional referent not yet established for Susa tablets of this period. Could indicate a category of goods, an institution, or a personnel class.
- M038~a, M381, M388, M338~b — Sequence of sign-list identifiers whose lexical values in this early script are not securely known; readings are purely graphemic labels from the CDLI sign list, not phonetic readings.
- M242~ab, M380~b, M048~c — As above; these signs appear as qualifiers or commodity-type markers in proto-Elamite administrative contexts, but their exact referents are debated.
- M218 — Tentatively interpreted as a subtotal or section-divider sign by analogy with similar tablets; function not independently confirmed for this document.
- M254~a, M380~b — Partially preserved in a damaged line; the 'x' in the transliteration indicates an unidentified or unreadable sign, making the entry's referent unknown.
- 2(N01) — The numeral '2' expressed by two impressed circles (N01 = standard unit in proto-cuneiform/proto-Elamite numerical notation). The commodity being counted is uncertain due to damage and unclear heading signs.
Reasoning ↓
Visual examination of the photograph shows the main inscribed face of a fragmentary clay tablet, broken along the lower-right and parts of the upper edge. The surface is worn but wedge impressions are visible in the upper portion; I can discern what appear to be several grouped strokes (consistent with numerical signs N01, i.e., the round impressions representing units) and rectangular/complex sign clusters in the upper registers, broadly consistent with the transliteration's M-series signs and the two instances of 2(N01). The lower portion of the inscribed face is missing entirely, and signs in the middle rows are eroded, making independent sign-by-sign verification of the M-series identifications impossible at this resolution. The reverse (lower image in the composite) appears entirely blank or too eroded to carry readable signs, which is consistent with a simple tally/administrative document. The side view shows the typical lenticular profile of early Uruk-period tablets. The museum number Sb 15348 / P009281 matches the Louvre's proto-Elamite holdings from Susa. Because the M-series sign identifications are specialist assignments from the CDLI proto-cuneiform/proto-Elamite sign lists and cannot be independently confirmed from the photograph at this resolution, and because the text is substantially broken, confidence is rated low.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 1849 in / 964 out tokens
Why it matters
Transliteration
M157~a , M038~a M381 M388 M338~b# [...] , [...] [...] M242~ab# M380~b M048~c M218 , 2(N01)# [...] , 2(N01) M254~a M380~b# x [...] , [...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 26S, 5038. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P009281) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-12/v4-interpretation).
Related tablets
Related sources
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.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.