MS 2869/08

~3100 BCE·Uruk Period·P006206

Translation · reference

Experimental

Source: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P006206.

Translation · AI engine

read from photo

Low confidence

[...] [...] 1(N01) [unit], SU~a PIRIG~b1 EN~a [of/for?] U2~b [...] NUNUZ~a1 NI~a [...] 1(N01) [unit], [X] DA~a [X] [...] 1(N01) [unit], [X] [...] 1(N01) [unit], [X] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]

8 uncertain terms ↓

SU~a — Archaic sign; in later Sumerian can relate to 'skin/hide' or 'body'; precise Uruk-period reading and meaning uncertain.
PIRIG~b1 — Archaic sign conventionally associated with 'lion' or a feline; the exact variant (b1) and its administrative meaning in this context are unclear.
EN~a — High-status title — 'lord' or 'high priest/administrator' — but whether it designates a person, an office, or an institution in this fragmentary context cannot be determined.
U2~b — Sign that can mean 'plant/herb/grass' in later Sumerian; the b-variant and its commodity meaning here are uncertain.
NUNUZ~a1 — Conventionally 'egg' or 'seed/spawn'; may designate a commodity category but the exact referent in Uruk administrative contexts is debated.
NI~a — Polysemous archaic sign; possible readings include 'oil/fat' or a determinative; meaning here is unresolved.
DA~a — Can mean 'side/rib/flank' in later Sumerian; Uruk-period semantic value unknown — may be a commodity term, a qualifier, or a personal name element.
1(N01) — Basic round-impression numeral '1' in the sexagesimal or other counting system; the commodity being counted is not preserved or identifiable in this fragment.

Reasoning ↓

The photograph shows a small, roughly triangular clay fragment photographed from multiple angles (obverse, reverse, and edges). The museum label 'MS 2869/08' is visible on the top piece. The main inscribed face (center image) shows a ruled grid of horizontal and vertical incised lines — characteristic of Uruk-period proto-cuneiform tablets — with several sign-clusters visible in the upper register. I can tentatively make out what appears to be a complex bundled-reed sign (consistent with EN~a) and some round or oval impressions (consistent with N01 numerals) in the upper portion of the face. The lower portion of the inscribed face is heavily worn and the signs there are largely illegible from the photograph. The reverse (lower large fragment) shows only ruled lines and no legible signs, consistent with a blank or heavily eroded back. The transliteration's notation of multiple broken lines ([...]) matches the visible damage and lacunae. The signs SU~a, PIRIG~b1, and NUNUZ~a1 cannot be individually verified from the photo due to resolution and surface erosion; the photo is consistent with but cannot confirm those specific readings. Overall the photo and transliteration are compatible; no direct contradictions are visible, but most sign-level detail cannot be confirmed at this resolution.

Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 14, 2026 · 2024 in / 1079 out tokens

Why it matters

Transliteration

[...] , [...]
1(N01)# , SU~a PIRIG~b1 EN~a# U2~b
[...] , NUNUZ~a1# NI~a [...]
1(N01) , X# DA~a X [...]
1(N01) , X [...]
1(N01) , X [...]
[...] , [...]
[...] , [...]
[...] , [...]
[...] , [...]

Scholarly note

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — MS 2869/08. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Attribution

Image: Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway (P006206) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P006206..

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