Ur III-Texts

JAARBERICHT VAN HET VOORAZIATISCH-EGYPTISCH GENOOTSCHAP EX ORIENTE LUX JOURNAL OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN SOCIETY "EX ORIENTE LUX' ANNUAIRE DE LA SOCIÉTÉ ORIËNTALE "EX ORIENTE LUX" No. 33 (1993-1994) CUNEIFORM TABLETS IN THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION LEIDEN 1995 112 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 B. UR III-TEXTS (NOS. 2-15) by REMCO DE MAAiJER1) (LEIDEN), with an Appendix by CLAUDIA FISCHER (HEIDELBERG) Texts 7 and 14 were previously published in BiOr2) 9 (1952), 173f., the other texts are published here for the first time. Provenance Drehem: Umma: Girsu: Unknown: of the texts: texts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. texts 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. text 13. texts 14, 15. Text 2 50 x 39 x 15mm Drehem; AS 5 / IX / 14 Obv. 01) 2 gu4 02) 30 mas-gal 03) ma-sa6-saó 04) 2 gu4 05) 193 mas 06) 17 üz 07) erin2 zi.Bi.Riki 08) ugula ma-sa6-sa6 Rev. 09) l sila4 10) lü-dnanna 11) l sila4 ur-mes [) l am grateful to H. Waetzoldt, who, on the basis of the first draft of my manuscript, has collated most of the tablets during the 40th RAI, 1993 in Leiden, B. Jagersma and M. Stepien, whose comments on these texts and additional collations were most helpful. I also wish to express my gratitude to C. Fischer for her valuable contribution to this article. 2) For the abbreviations used in this article. see M. Sigrist and T. Gomi, The Comprehensive Catalogue of Published Ur III Tablets (Bethesda 1991), 7-12. In addition, the following abbreviations are used: Fs Artzi = Klein, J. & Skaist, A. (eds.), Bar-Ilan Studies in Assyriology dedicated to Pinhas Artzi, 1990; Hirose - Gomi, T., Hirose, Y. & Hirose, K., Neo-Sumerian Administrative Texts of the Hirose Collection, 1990; H SAO = Heidelberger Studiën zum Alten Oriënt, Heidelberg; PSD = Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, Philadelphia; RGTC = Répertoire Géographique des Textes Cunéiformes, Wiesbaden; RIA = Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archeologie, Berlin; TCND = Archi, A. & Pomponio, F., Testi Cuneiformi Neo-Sumerici da Drehem, 1990; U A VA = Untersuchungen zur Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie, Berlin; USP - Poster, B., Umma in the Sargonic Period, 1982; UTI 3 = Yildiz, F. & Gomi, T., Die Umma-Texte aus den Archaologischen Museen zu Istanbul, Band III, 1993. CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 113 12) u4 14-kam 13) mu-kux 14) ab-ba-sa6-ga <ï-dab5> 15) iti ezem mah 16) mu en-unu6-gal / dinanna ba-hug L.E. 17) 4 gu4 242 udu "2 oxen, 30 full-grown he-goats, (from) Masasa; 2 oxen, 193 he-goats, 17 she-goats, (from) the conscripts of ZIBIRI, (their) overseer (is) Masasa; l lamb, (from) Lunanna, l lamb (from) Urmes; (on) the 14th day; (this is a) delivery, Abbasaga <took it in chargo; (in) the month Ezem Mah, (in) the year 'Enunugal was installed (as high-priest of) Inanna'; (this concerns/the total is) 4 head of big cattle (and) 242 head of small cattle." Commentary: Unes 3 and 8: This personal name is very rare. Cf. TrD 9 = PDT 2,737:5; PDT 1,723:2; MVN 13,849:8. line 7: Maybe read si-pi-riki, "(of) Sippar" (cf. the OB writings listed in RGTC 3, j.v.). However, I do not know of any other Ur III administrative text which writes Sippar unorthographically. For conscripts in this type of text, cf., e.g., AUCT 1,4; TrD 54 = PDT 2,1341; MVN 8,222; SA XXXVI Ie, CT 32, pi. 19-22, BM 103398. For conscripts of Sippar, cf. TCL 5, pi. XXXI, 6041:IV:8'. line 13: mu-ku x [MU.DU] is transcribed here and below following the proposal of J. Krecher, ZA 77 (1987), 16f. Other proposals to explain the fmal consonant of muDU, as evidenced by, e.g., MVN 13,546:4 (sa mu-DU-ra-ta), are listed in J. Krecher, op. c/r., 16f., with notes 27-29 (add M. Yoshikawa, ASJ 14 (1992), 393f., with note 2, arriving at basically the same conclusion, reading mu-ir10). It must be said, however, that the absence of unorthographical writings like mu-ku 4 and mu-e/ir in Ur III administrative texts is a strong argument against both theses. Cf. also D. Owen's remarks in OLZ 87 (1992), 3, 246, n.6. line 14: i-dab5 is reconstructed on the basis of other texts recording Abbasaga's taking in charge of deliveries. Cf. e.g. the following texts, all from the same year and month as our text: MVN 8,193 (same day as our text), CST 332 (8th day), MVN 11,140 (9th day), SET 10 (llth day), TCND 69 = Aegyptus 19,10 (13th day), TRU 125 (28th day), DV 5 (Nik. II) 476 (29th day). Text 3 34 x 32 x 14mm Drehem; AS 8 / II / 4 Obv. 01) 2 udu a-lum 02) l gukkal (=UDU.HÜL) 03) ud 4-kam 114 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 TT I mr- CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 115 04) ki lugal-amar-kü-ta 05) ü-td-mi-sar/-ra-am Rev. 06)i-dab5 (blank) 07) iti ses-da-gu? 08) mu en-nun-e / damar-dsuen-ra / ki-ag en eriduki / ba-hug L.E. 09)3 "2 fine(?) sheep, l fat-tailed sheep, (on) the 4th day, from Lugalamarku, Utamisharam took them in charge; (in) the month Sheshdagu, (in) the year 'the noble high-priestess, who loves Amarsuen, was installed as high-priestess of EriduY' Commentary: line 1: The meaning of the term a-lum is still unclear, cf. PSD A/1, 107ff. Text4 28x26xl3mm Drehem; AS 4 / II / 9 Obv. 01) 2 sila4 02) u4 10 la-1-kam 03) ki ab-ba-sa6-ga-ta 04) in-ta-è-a Rev. 05)i-dab5 (blank) 06) iti ses-da-gu? 07) mu üs-sa dgu/-za den-lfl-la ba/-dim L.E. 08)2 "2 lambs, (on) the 9th day, from Abbasaga, Intaea took them in charge; (in) the month Sheshdagu, (in) the year following the year 'the divine throne of Enlil was built'; (this concerns/the total is) 2 (animals)." Text5 54 x 39 x 19mm Drehem; S 47 / XI / 15 Obv. 01) l sila/en-hl 02) l sila4 dnin-lü 03) mu-kux en dinanna 04) l sila4 dnanna 05) mu-kux i-dl-é-a sapra 06) l sila4 hur-sag-ga-lam-ma 116 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 07) mu-kux lü-sa-lim nu-banda3 08) l sila4 dutu 09) mu-kux a-da-a 10) zabar-dab5 maskim 11) l amar az é-us-ga Rev. 12) mu-kux ur-dsuen 13) a-a-kal-la maskim 14) 3 udu niga na-ap-la-nu-um mar/-tu 15) mu-kux Iugal-u4-sü-sè 16) urdu2-gu10 maskim 17)3gu 4 24udu 11 u8 18) 8 mas 4 üz su-gfd é-muhaldim-sè 19) u4 15-kam (blank) 20) ki na-sa6-ta ba-zi 21) iti ezem me-ki-gal 22) mu us-sa ki-ma^ / ba-hul "l lamb (for) Enlil, l lamb (for) Ninlil, delivery (by) the high-priest of Inanna; l lamb (for) Nanna, delivery (by) Iddi(n)ea, the chief administrator; l lamb (for) the Hursaggalama, delivery (by) Lushalim, the overseer; l lamb (for) Utu, delivery (by) Adaa; the cupbearer (was) commissioner; l young bear (for) the poultry yard, delivery (by) Ursuen; Aakalla (was) commissioner; 3 barley-fed sheep (for) Naplanum, the Amorite, delivery by Lugalusushe; Urdugu (was) commissioner; 3 oxen, 24 sheep and 11 ewes, 8 he-goats, 4 she-goats (as) shugid dues for the kitchen; (on) the 15th day; by Nasa it was expended; (in) the month Ezem Mekigal; (in) the year folio wing the year 'Kimash was destroyedV' Commentary: line 18: For a discussion of the term su-gid, cf., e.g., Hirose, 41. Text 6 90 x 50 x 22 mm Drehem; undated Obv. 01) 3 <udu> ur-lugal 02) 20 èr-re-sum 03) 18 [s\u-da-da 04) l 'èr^-ra-ba-ni 05) 6 sa6-ga 06) 28 sVdnin-subur 07) 4 ur-al-la (blank) CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 117 08) 19 ba-a-a 09) O en-um-ï-li 10) O ku-un-da-la 11) 5 dnanna-l/-sa6 Rev. (blank) 12) su+nigin2 94 udu 13) ba-üs su-su (blank) 14) ugula rsu*-er-ra IS "3 (sheep for which) Urlugal (was responsible), 20 Erreshum, 18 Shudada, l Errabani, 6 Saga, 28 Shuninshubur [or: Shuil(i)abrat], 4 Uralla, 19 Baaa, O Ennumili, O Kundaa, 5 Nannaisa; (the) total (is) 94 sheep, they are dead (sheep) to be compensated for; the overseer (was) Shuerra, the IS." Commentary: line 14: Whether in Ur III administrative texts, is as a professional name can be read either kus? or sahar, denoting perhaps two different professions (cf., e.g., ThJ.H. Krispijn, JEOL 32 (1991-1992), 16, with notes 8-10)3), remains to be established, as well as — assuming this is correct — which reading belongs to what profession. It appears to me that the observations made by, a.o., J.-P. Grégoire in AAS, xvii and G. Selz, FAOS 15,1, 87 are essentially correct. The IS in question, as borne out by related texts, appears to be some kind of supervising herdsman. Cf. also texts like HLC 2,27 II: 10, where is and sipa saganx(=AMA)gan are grouped together. Text 7 105 x 52 x 12mm Drehem; SS 8 / 1 / 2 1 The seal measures 23 x over 13mm, its legend 20,8 x 12,50-12,90mm. Previous publication: J.Schoneveld, BiOr 9 (1952), 173f. (seal unobserved). Obv. 01) udu niga sig5 02) udu niga 3-kam üs 03) mas-gal niga 3-kam üs 04) 2 udu niga den-lü 05) udu niga dgu-za den-lfl-la 06) udu niga 4-kam üs hur-sag-ga-lam-ma 07) sa é den-lil-la 3) Also, in some texts it seems to be short for sa-sahar-ra. 118 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 CT l^W^C^F CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 119 08) l udu niga sig5 09) 1 udu niga 3-kam üs 10) 2 udu niga 4-kam üs H) 2 mas-gal niga dnin-lil 12) 2 udu niga dnanna 13) sa é dnin-lil-la 14) lugal ku4-ra 15) l udu niga alan gibil ku-ba-tum 16) ka den-lil-la 17) ur-dsara0 sagi maskim 18) l udu niga 4-kam üs 19) l udu niga den-ki Rev. 20) l udu niga 4-kam üs 21) l udu niga ddam-gal-nun-na 22) l udu niga dasar-lü-hi 23) l udu niga dki-za 24) sa é den-ki!-ka 25) dsu-dsuen-la-ma-ha-ar / sagi maskim 26) u4 21-kam 27) ki a-ba-den-lfl-gin7-ta 28) ba-zi 29) sa nibrukl 30) giri3 ur-den-lfl-la dub-sar 31) iti se-KiN-ku5 31) mu dsu-dsuen / lugal uri5ki-ma-ke4 32) ma-gurg mah 33) den-lü dnin-lil-ra 34) mu-ne-dim L.E. 35) 22 Seal legend: ur-den-lü-la / dub-sar / dumu DAM.GA.N[A? ...] " l barley-fed sheep of the highest quality, l barley-fed sheep of the 3rd quality, l barley-fed full-grown he-goat of the 3rd quality, 2 barley-fed sheep (for) Enlil; l barley-fed sheep (for) the divine throne of Enlil; l barley-fed sheep of the 4th quality (for) the Hursaggalama; in the temple of Enlil; l barley-fed sheep of the highest quality, l barley-fed sheep of the 3rd quality, 2 barley-fed sheep of the 4th quality, 2 barley-fed full-grown he-goats (for) Ninlil; 2 barley-fed sheep (for) Nanna, in the temple of Ninlil; in the presence of the king; l barley-fed sheep (for) the new statue of Kubatum, (in) the gate of Enlil; Urshara the cupbearer (was) the commissioner; l barley-fed sheep of the 4th quality, l barley-fed sheep (for) Enki; l barley-fed sheep of the 4th quality, l barley-fed 120 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 sheep (for) Damgalnuna; l barley-fed sheep (for) Asarluhi; l barley-fed sheep (for) Kiza; in the temple of Enki; Shusuenlamahar the cupbearer (was) the commissioner; (on) the 21st day; by Abaenlilgin it was expended; in Nippur; via Urenlila the scribe; (in) the month SheKINku; (in) the year 'Shusuen, the king of Ur, constructed the grand deep-going boat for Enlil and Ninlil'; (the total amount of animals concerned is) 22." Seal legend: "Urenlila, scribe, son of DAMGANA(?)." Commentary: line 14: Cf. W. Sallaberger, UAVA 7/1, 30, with n. 124. line 15: I do not know of any parallel texts concerning a statue of Kubatum. line 33: Schoneveld read dnin.lil.tó.ra (as in, e.g., MVN 13,521:9), but the tablet clearly has no la. Text 8 40 x 32 x 14mm Umma; S 30 / VI / — Obv. 01) 3.0.0 se gur-lugal 02) da-da a-ri-a 03) ur-dnin-gis-zi-da 04) 2.2.0 lugal-bad a-ri-a / GIS.BI.MU 05) 3.0.0 é-ü-e / a-ri-a ^anse1- / ta Re v. 06) se-ba za-mu 07) sa saharki urdu2-hül 08) a-pi4-sa!4kl-ta 09) iti su-numun 10) mu dumu lugal "900 litres of barley (measured according to the) royal gur, (to) Dada, (from) the pasture of Urningishzida; 720 litres (to) Lugalbad, (from) the pasture of GISHBIMU; 900 litres (to) Eue, (from) the pasture of Nanshe; (it is a) New Year barley allotment; in Sahar, Urduhul, from Apisal; (in) the month Shunumun, (in) the year 4the child of the king (was married) V' Commentary: line 2: a-ri-a: compare PSD A/1, 153ff., s.v. a-ri-a B, and also SET 104:2,17, ari-a dinanna-sè, and H. Sauren, ZA 59 (1969), 16, with literature. line 8: For the reading a-pi4-sa!4ki, compare M. Touzalin, L 'administration palatiale d Vépoque de la Troisième Dynastie d'Ur: Textes inédits du musée d'Alep (dissertation Tours 1982), 353, note 2 to text 206. This text has, unorthographically, a-pisalkl in line 1. There seems to be no evidence for the reading a-ka-sa!4ki instead of a-pi4-sa!4ki, for which most recently K. Maekawa, AS J 13 (1991), 203f., again argued. CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION Text 9 121 38 x 35 x 12mm [reverse, top left broken] Umma; S 4 8 / V I / — Obv. 01) 4 umduza-sü 02) ki-la-bi l 5/6 ma/-na 6 gin 03) kig til-la 04) ki da-da-ga/-ta Rev. 05) [u]r-dsara2-ke4 06) [i]n-la (blank) 07) iti su-numun 08) mu üs-sa ki-lma^ ba-hul / mu üs-sa-bi Seal legend: [u]r-d[sa]ra2] / dub-sar / dumu Iugal-usur4 "4 branding tools of copper, their weight (is) l 5/6 minas and 6 shekel; workmanship (on the implements) completed; from Dadaga; Urshara weighed it; (in) the month Shunumun, (in) the year af ter the year folio wing the year 'Kimash was destroyedV Seal legend: "Urshara / scribe / son of Lugalushur" Commentary: line l: for the identification of these objects with branding tools 4), compare provisionally JJ.A. van Dijk, HSAO l, 249, n.60, B. Poster, USP, 63,163, n. 13. The subject will be treated in detail by D.A. Foxvog in a forthcoming study entitled Brands and Branding-Irons in Early Mesopotamia. Although "tithe" as the meaning of ZAG.U, read za-10, is fairly well established, it seems that the copper implements in UET 3,721 (line 9' 4 urudu ZAG.u gu4, line 10' 2 urudu ZAG.U lü, to brand oxen and human beings respectively — contra Limet, Métal, 235, s.v.) are basically the same implements as the ones in our text. We have here, then, the Ur writing of the implement, and I would suggest it has to be read urudu za-su 4 (cf. also urudu za-sü rgu4"" in MVN 16, 607 Vs.l). Another example of the distribution Umma:Ur = sü:su4 is, e.g., MVN 14,210:2 gikid ma sü and, without determinative, UTI J, 1663, Vs.2 kid ma sü-a, as opposed to UET 3,285:rev.3 s'kid ma su4-a. For a possible reading /muru/ of gikid ma sü and variants as a Diri-group, see J. Klein, Fs Artzi, 113,117. Parallel texts show that branding tools, besides being used on human beings and oxen, also were used on boats and sheep: 4) This identification, of course, has been made before, cf, e.g., MVN 13, 22 ad text 651. 122 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 DV 5,424 MVN 13,651 Obv. 01) 4 umduza-sü ma 02) ki-la-bi 2 ma-na 9 gin 03) l uruduhu-pu-um §i§ig su du?-a! 04) ki-la-bi l/2 ma-na 7 gin Rev. 05)kigtil-la 06) ki da-da-ga-ta 07) ur-dsara2-ke4 in-la (Seal: ur-dsara2 dub-sar dumu Iugal-[usur4]) 08) iti ddumu-zi 09) mu ha-ar-siki ki-ma^ ba-hul Obv. 01) l uruduza-sü gu4 02) l uruduza-sü udu 03) ki-la-bi 1/3 ma-na / 6 gin] 04) kig düb-ba Rev. 05) ki lü-den-lfl-la/-ta 06) lü-kal-la 07) in-la (blank) 08) mu ma den-ki ba-ab/-dug Text 10 86 x 46 x 17mm Umma; S 4 4 / — / — Obv. 01) 2 gis 0.1.0 02) l gis 0.0. l 03) ka5a munu4-mü 04) l gis 0.0.4 ki guru? 05) ur-dma-mi 06)3 gis 0.1.0 07) 8 gis 0.0.3 08) «0.3.0» 2 gis 0.0. l 09) 7 gis 0.0.2 10) 18 gis sa<-sü> 11)6 gis 0.0.4 12) 7 gis 5 <sila3> 13) 3 gis 0.0.5 14) 3 gis 0.0. l 5<sila 3 > (blank/erasure) (blank/erasure) Rev. 15) zü-lum-bi 3.2.3 gur 16) a-ab-ba-ni 17) (erasure) 18) 3 gis 0.0.5 19) l gis 0.0.4 20) zü-lum-bi 0.3. l 21) ur-su-kü-ga Seal: lü-kal-la / dub-sar / dumu ur-et1-e is CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 8 123 10 CHFf 12 ^TTF* 15 r 7FTT Seal:see Appendix 14 Reverse uninscribed H^*—r 124 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 22) êi§kiri6 ur4-sa-ga (blank) 23) mu si-mu-ru-um^ lu/-luki-büm a-ra 10 la-l-kam / ba-hul "2 trees (with) 60 litres (of dates), l tree (with) 10 Utres, (concerning) Ka, the malster; l tree (with) 40 litres (of dates), (situated at) the place of the granary, (concerning) Urmami; 3 trees (with) 60 litres, 8 trees (with) 30 litres, 2 trees (with) 10 litres, 7 trees (with) 20 litres, 18 unproductive trees, 6 trees (with) 40 Utres, 7 trees (with) 5 litres, 3 trees (with) 50 litres, 3 trees (with) 65 litres, the dates thereof are 1050 litres, (concerning) Aabbani; 3 trees (with) 50 litres, l tree (with) 40 litres, the dates thereof are 190 litres, (concerning) Urshukuga; (in) the Urshaga orchard; (in) the year 'Simurum (and) Lulubum were destroyed for the 9th time'." Commentary: Cf. TJAMC, pl.63 (Szlechter II, IOS 43), in which the same persons as in our text figure. Contra Szlechter, I would like to read col.II:29 in this text ka5a munu4<mü>. line 4: ki guru?: cf. OrSP 47/49,272: 11-12, MCS 3, p.86, BM 105484:5 and TCL 5, pi. XVIII-XIX, 6036: VII: 2. line 10: sa-sü, an adjective describing unproductive date palms, is reconstructed on the basis of the other texts of this type. line 15: the total of 1050 liters, written over an erasure, is 5 too much, this is probably due to the erasures after line 14. Text 11 90 x 58 x 26mm Umma; AS l / — / • Obv.I01)9gis0.1.0 02) l gis 0.0.5 03) 8 gis 0.0.4 04) 7 gis 0.0.3 05) 2 gis 0.0.2 5 sila3 06) 5 gis 0.0.2 07) l gis 0.0. l 5 sila3 08) 4 gis 0.0. l 09) 4 gis 5 sila3 10) l gis 2 sila3 11) O gis l sila3 12) 13 gis sa-sü 13) su+nigin2 13 gis sa-sü 14) su+nigin2 42 gis II 01) 15 gis 0.0.3 02) O gis 0.0.2 5 sila3 03) 3 gis 0.0.2 04) 4 gis 0.0. l 5 sila3 05)5 gis 0.0. l 06) 4 gis 5 sila3 07) l gis 2 sila3 08) 2 gis l sila3 09) 4 gis sa-sü 10) su+nigin9 4 gis sa-sü 11) su+nigin2 54 gis 12) su+nigio, 5.2.4 4 sila3 gur 13) sa-gü i-dab5 14) 9 gis 0.1.0 CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 15) 3 gis 0.0.5 16) 2 gis 0.0.4 17) 11 gis 0.0.3 18) O gis 0.0.2 5 sila3 19) 3 gis 0.0.2 20) O gis 0.0. l 5 sila3 21) 3 gis 0.0.1 22) O gis 5 sila3 15) su+nigio, 4.2.2 7 sila3 / zü-lum gur (blank) 16) igi-nig-kal ï-dab5 17) 11 gis 0.1.0 18) O gis 0.0.5 19) 9 gis 0.0.4 Rv.IIIOl) O gis 2 sila3 02) O gis l sila3 03) 2 gis sa-sü 04) su+nigio, 2 gis sa-sü 05) su+nigin2 31 gis 06) su+nigin2 zü-lum-bi 3 A/5 gur 07) ur-mes ï-dab5 (blank) 125 IV (blank) 01) êi§kiri6 al-a-zu 02) a-sa ka-ma-rïA1 03) mu damar-dsuen / lugal (blank) "9 trees (with) 60 litres (of dates), l tree (with) 50 litres, 8 trees (with) 40 litres, 7 trees (with) 30 litres, 2 trees (with) 25 litres, 5 trees (with) 20 litres, l tree (with) 15 litres, 4 trees (with) 10 litres, 4 trees (with) 5 litres, l tree (with) 2 litres, O trees (with) l litre, 13 unproductive trees; the total (is) 13 unproductive trees, the total (is) 42 trees, the total (is) 1347 litres of dates (measured according to the) gur, Iginigkal took it in charge; 11 trees (with) 60 litres, O trees (with) 50 litres, 9 trees (with) 40 litres, 15 trees (with) 30 litres, O trees (with) 25 litres, 3 trees (with) 20 litres, 4 trees (with) 15 litres, 5 trees (with) 10 litres, 4 trees (with) 5 Utres, l tree (with) 2 litres, 2 trees (with) l litre, 4 unproductive trees; the total (is) 4 unproductive trees, the total (is) 54 trees, the total (is) 1664 litres (measured according to the) gur\u took it in charge; 9 trees (with) 60 litres, 3 trees (with) 50 litres, 2 trees (with) 40 litres, 11 trees (with) 30 litres, O trees (with) 25 litres, 3 trees (with) 20 litres, O trees (with) 15 litres, 3 trees (with) 10 litres, O trees (with) 5 litres, O trees (with) 2 litres, O trees (with) l litre, 2 unproductive trees; the total (is) 2 unproductive trees, the total (is) 31 trees, the total (of) dates thereof (is) 1190 litres (measured according to the) gur; Urmes took it in charge; (this concerns) the Alazu orchard; (in) the Kamari field; (in) the year 'Amarsuen (became) kingV Text 12 37 x 36 x 18mm Umma; S 45 / VII / — Obv. 01) 4[+x]AO se g[ur (lugal)] 02) se ba-a gasam (=NUN.ME./TAG) 03) ugula Iü-igi-sa6/-sa6 126 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 04) rx.x.x" se Rev. 05) se ba-a 06) [ugula] unken-né 07) ki-su? é-duru5-gu/-la-ta 08) iti min-ès 09) mu üs-sa si-m[u-ru\l-um lu-lu-[bu(-um)] / a-r[a 10 la 1-kam-as] / b[a-hul] "1440[+x] litres of barley (measured according to the [royal]) gur; (it is) barley distributed to the craftsmen, the overseer (was) Luigisasa, rx" litres of barley, (it is) distributed barley, the overseer (was) Unkene; from the threshing floor of the Edurugula; (in) the month Minesh, (in) the year: 'Simurum and Lulubum were destroyed for the ninth time'." Text 13 150 x 80 x 26mm Girsu; undated Obv.IOl) 36 muhaldim tur-tur 02) 20[+x ka]s-a gub-ba / tur-tur 03) 16 bahar, sila3 04) 20 bahar7 munu4-mü 05) 30 eria, gi-izi-la 06) 42 Iü-bappir2 07) ugula-bi 08) 2 lü-gis-ï 09) 2 su-ku6 V 10) ugula-bi DIS V 11) r x x x1 DA.DIS 12) V erin,, é gu-za-la 13) 84 dumu dab5-ba 14) 66 es didli 15) 10 lugal-ezem 16) 5 ka/-gu10 (blank) 17) su bar-ra 18) 146 gurus 19) é dnin-gfr-su 20) [30? [gurus(?)] [é dba-ü II (blank) 01) ugula-bi 02) 160 é sapra é 03) ugula-bi 04) 56 ugula ensi2-gal 05) 150 nu-§i§kiri6 gis / gal-gal 06) ugula-bi 07) 23 nu dnin/-é-gal 08) 37 09) ugula-bi 10) 90 é dnanse 11) 62 nu-êi§kiri6 gis gal-gal 12) 42 nu-§i§kiri6 ^gestin (blank) 13) sa ninaki 14) 20 é dnin-dar-a 15) 14 nu-êi§kiri6 gis [...] (blank) [...r (blank) 03) lïr K. ? tr M 128 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 04)40[...] 05) sa ki-nu-nirki 06) 36 nu-si§kiri6 gis gal/-gal 07) 12 nu-^kiri6 pgestin (blank) 08) sa gü-ab-baki (blank) 09) 2 nar gala 10) da-da i-dab5 (blank) 11) 3 dam-gar (blank) "36 junior cooks, 20[+x] junior kashaguba's, 16 potters of s//a-pots, 20 potters and malsters, 30 torchbearers, 42 brewers, their overseers (are) O, 2 sesame-plant workers, 2 fishermen ..., their overseers (are) ...,..., [x] conscripts of the house of the throne bearer, 84 persons taken in charge, 66 persons of the various sanctuaries, 10 persons (with) Lugalezem, 5 persons (with) Kagu; (these are persons) released; 146 labourers of the temple of Ningirsu, 30? labourers(?) of the temple of Bau, ..., their overseers (are) O, 160 persons of the house of the house administrator, their overseers (are) O, 56 overseers of the former city governor, 150 gardeners of big trees, their overseers (are) O, 23 gardeners of grapes, 37 gardeners of Ninegal, their overseers (are) 0; 90 persons of the temple of Nanshe, 62 gardeners of big trees, 42 gardeners of grapes; in Nina; 20 persons of the temple of Nindara, 14 gardeners of .... trees; ..., ..., 13 ..., 40 ...; in Kinunir; 36 gardeners of big trees, 12 gardeners of grapes; in Guabba; 2 musicians and lamentation priests, Dada took (them) in charge; 3 merchants; ... ." Commentary: line 1:2: That kas-a gub-ba, "posted/stationed/on duty at the beer", is a professional title is shown by, e.g., NATN 50 PN kas-a gub-ba, with the seal referring to this person as kas gub-ba. line 1:5: Cf. H. Waetzoldt, UNT, 272 ad text 78. line 1:17: For su—bar in this sense cf. B. Kienast, ZA 72 (1982), 35f. with n.24-5. Text 14 39 x 35 x 17mm Provenance unknown; undated Previous publication: J.Schoneveld, BiOr 9 (1952), 174. Obv. 01) 3.4.4 5 / sila3 gig gur 02) kisib a-ab-ba-ta / su ür-dam (blank) Rev. (blank) CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 129 "1185 litres of wheat (measured according to the) gur\t must be erased from the sealed document of Aabba." Obv. 01) 0.0.3 la l sila3 gü gal-gal 02) 0.0.5 l sila3 zü-lum 03) 8 sila3 zid sa 04) 3Vdn4 2 sila3 zid sa 05) la-ï gur-dub 06) 2.0.0 zfd za gur Rev. 07) 6.1.0sa-dun (blank) "29 litres of big pulses, 51 litres of dates, 8 litres of roasted flour, 3 l/2 litres of roasted flour, (it is a) deficit of the basket; 600 litres of za-flour (measured according to the) gur, 1860 litres (as a) regular allocation." Commentary: lines 3-4: Note the unusual form of the sign SA. line 6: This type of flour is unknown to me5). APPENDIX by CLAUDIA FISCHER (ÜEIDELBERG) OBSERVATIONS ON RECUT SEALS WITH FOCUS ON TEXT 9 Most of the cylinder seals that have survived to modern times are made of stone. Since Mesopotamia is an alluvial land, stone as a raw material had to be imported and it is therefore not surprising that it was considered precious1)- To meet 5) Maybe cf. RIA 8, 27f., short for zid za(-al)(-tum) or the like? *) For trade in third-millenium B.C. Mesopotamia compare T.F. Potts, World Archaeology 24/3 (1993), 379-397. \ 15 130 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 the requirements of a highly sophisticated bureaucracy which extensively used cylinder seals, such as in the Ur III period, stones were not only imported in order to make new seals but cylinder seals were recut as well2). Sometimes the entire seal stone with its scène and inscription was recut, other times only a portion. Recutting might be, indeed, one of the reasons why we do not have the expected number of matching original seals with impressions3). Thus, it is not imperative to follow E. Porada by expecting seal owners to have taken all their seals with them to their graves4). While it is easy to spot signs of recutting on original cylinder seals^), it is difficult to do so with cylinder seals that are only preserved as impressions. The following remarks may make a contribution to help clarify this discrepancy. The cylinder seal analysed here is impressed on the obverse and reverse of the Schoneveld 9 tablet. Impressions of the same seal have been published in Buchanan, Yale fig. 599 (S 41) and AUCT III no. 477 (AS 4). Furthermore, it is also found on Sigrist, Princeton no. 235 (AS 3), no. 343 (S 44), no. 563 (AS 5), and D. Owen, JCS 24 (1972), 171, no. 92 (S 48, UM 65-38-6), where only the seal inscriptions have been published. The fragmentary impression drawn here (at a 2) Cf. E. Porada, AfO 28 (1981-82), 36 referring to the treasure of Thebes: "This is an example which demonstrates that the abrading and recutting of cylinders began already in the Agade period and continued until the end of cylinder seal engraving." 3) D. Collon, Near Eastern Seals (1990), 19 gives three examples. 4 ) E. Porada in Studies in Honour of LM. Diakonoff (1982), 288. — Unfortunately, there is not a reasonable amount of Ur III graves to study. 5) Cf. WACS II no. 448. 450; Yale no. 593. CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 131 scale of 2:1) is based on Buchanan's excellent photo6). Reconstructed parts are indicated by dotted Unes. At first glance the cylinder seal appears to show a Standard presentation scène. A bald, clean-shaven worshipper in a fringed robe with his right hand raised, is led by a goddess to a seated god. The goddess is wearing a flounced robe and a multiple horned head-dress and raises her left hand. The god is clothed in a plain robe and a multiple horned head-dress with looped hair visible underneath it; hè sits on a throne with a long backrest that ends in a curl. A sitting lion with tail raised is set into the throne. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear that parts of the scène were recut. The previous seated deity, which I argue must have been a goddess, was erased although traces of its figure remain, namely the looped hair. This is characteristic of a goddess; a god's hair ends in a single bun. Additionally, the remains of a scorpion as afilling motifare still visible between the leading goddess' gown and the seated god's knees. While original cylinder seals show the scorpion with all types of deities7) and seated kings8), it is found on seals preserved as impressions only in connection with a goddess9). Indeed, on Babylonian Kudurru reliëfs the inscription beside the engraved scorpion mentions the goddess Ishara10). Furthermore, Neo-Assyrian stamp seals showing a scorpion might be associated with the queen or the harem11). Returning to our seal, one sees that the leading goddess' original garment may have been a striped robe. Close study reveals that the seal cutter, in order to change the robe into a flounced one, had to first remove the stripes from the original robe. This erasure resulted in the main section of the robe being more deeply cut than the flounced fabric edges, which appear higher on the impression than the rest of the robe. It should be remembered that normally a leading goddess attired in a striped robe approaches a seated goddess; it is extremely rare that she 6) Cf. also the photos in F.M. Fales, Prima deWalfabeto; La storia della scrittitra attraverso testi cuneiformi inediti (Studi e documenti Vol.IV, Venezia 1989), 121, text 37 and especially 122, text 38, and Christie's London, Ancient Near Eastern Textsfrom the Erlenmeyer Collection, Titesday 13 December 1988 at 10.30 a.m. precisely, 34, text 67. 7) Cf. the goddess in W AC S II no. 384, and the god in Yale no. 604. A bird and a scorpion were often put together into an erased inscription or scène during the late Ur III/early Babylonian period: compare WACS II nos. 363, 403. 8) Cf. GM no. 254. 9) Cf. Yale fig. 590, ITT III pi. IV 4814; ITT V pi. IV, 10030, 10054. 10) Cf. U. Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru-Reliefs (1989), 156-157. PBS XIV no. 268 (from Nippur): worshipper facing a seated goddess, ball-and-staff and vessel as filling motifs, traces of a scorpion can be seen between the goddess' knees and the worshipper; the inscription names Ishara. For presentation on a prehistorie Samarra vessel cf. A. Parrot, Sumer und Akkad (1983) fig. 77: women with windblown hair are circled by scorpions; Yale fig. 458 (Akkadian): scorpion under bed with woman on it; Ashmolean fig 612a (Neo-Assyrian): demonic scènes, the lowest register shows a woman sitting on a serpent with a scorpion on each side underneath. ") Cf. S. Herbordt, Neuassyrische Glyptik des 8. - 7. Jh. v. Chr. (1992), 136-137. 132 JAARBERICHT "EX ORIENTE LUX" 33 — 1993-1994 approaches a seated god 12 ). Additionally, a narrow striped robe provides enough space for the scorpion to be added; with a flounced robe this would have not been possible13). The former seated goddess wore a flounced robe, parts of which can still be seen at the seated god's knees. Later, the flounced robe was recut into a plain robe which is a more typical garment of martial gods14). In this case though, the seal cutter did not add a weapon for unknown reasons. The plain robe is also an indicator for an early dating (cf. footnote 14). Signs of recutting can be also seen at the neck which is flat and ill-defmed15). This was apparently done when the beard was cut. The throne was recut as well. lts long backrest was cut over parts of the garment's elbow section16). Finally, it should be mentioned that faint traces of a star disk in a crescent can be seen in front of the god's face17). One can only speculate whether the seal in its original form with a seated goddess was already owned by Ursara before it was recut. It was quite common in the Ur III period that an owner's first seal was of a seated goddess which was later replaced by a seal with a seated god18). Ursara owned at least two more seals which hè used at the same time as the one analysed in this appendix. The first seal is a four figure presentation scène to a seated god. In contrast to the seal discussed here, the inscription gives not only the father's name but his profession as well (cf. Yale no. 618). The other seal, dedicated to Urlisi, shows a three figure presentation scène to a standing god. Traces of an earlier seated figure and inscription indicate that this seal had been recut (cf. Sigrist, Princeton no. 197)19). 12) Cf. Yale fig. 616; for similar signs of recutting of the leading goddess' garment cf. Sigrist, Princeton no. 443 (Umma, SS 4). 13) Cf. Bruxelles no. 181, p. 139 (Umma, S 46): leading goddess in a striped robe approaches a seated god; traces of a scorpion are visible at the god's knees, a line running from the knee down to the end of the garment was added later; its beginning does not match with the original garment, giving more proof of reworking. A better photo of this tablet can be found in Bruxelles catalogue De Sumer a Babylone (1983) no. 105 and p. 41 fig. 51. 14) Cf. Yale figs. 614 (AS 2), 615 (mid-Sulgi), 625 (S 35); AUCTIII nos. 297, 298 (both AS 3); BM 13059 (S 46), BM 13196 (S 47). 15) Cf. the king's recut neck on a cylinder seal in L. Delaporte, Catalogue des cylindres orientaux ... de la Bibliothèque Nationale (1910) fig. 119 where traces of the original deity's hair can be seen; see also BM 15060 with a seated goddess recut into a god. Please note that all BM numbers mentioned in this text will be dealt with in a forthcoming article by the author. 16) For impressions showing the seated goddess on such a throne cf. BM 21112 A. U E X no. 400, for original cylinder seals cf. GM nos. 106, 128, 145; VR fig. 260. Nevertheless, this type of throne occurs more often with a seated god. 17) For another example of a seated goddess changed into a seated god cf. Bruxelles no. 527, p. 150 (Umma): seated god with looped hair and haphazardly added beard; partly visible scorpion at his knee; clear traces of a former inscription between the signs dub and sar. 18) Cf. MVN XIV seal inscription with reference to seal motifs e.g. nos. 6a/6b, 34a/34b, 160a/160b (all from Umma). 19) For additional reference about Ursara and his seals cf. P. Steinkeller, BiMes 6 (1977), 47, footnote no. 47. CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF THE SCHONEVELD COLLECTION 133 The following abbreviations are used: B. Buchanan, Catalogue of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in the Ashmolean Museum (1966) = Ashmolean B. Buchanan, Early Near Eastern Seals in the Yale Babylonian Collection (1981) = Yale D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum. Cylinder Seals II (1982) = WACS II A. Parrot, Glyptique mésopotamienne (1954) = GM A. Moortgat, Vorderasiatische Rollsiegel (1940) = VR M. Sigrist, Tablettes du Princeton Theological Seminary. Époque d'U r III (1990) = Princeton L. Speleers, Catalogue des intailles et empreintes orientales des Musees Royaux du Cinquantenaire (1917) = Bruxelles C. OLD BABYLONIAN AND OLD ASSYRIAN TABLETS (NOS. 16-17) BY KLAAS R. VEENHOF Text 16 Obv. l 79 x 49 x 29 mm (unopened tablet case with seal impressions) Sippar; 23-IV Ammiditana 30 BÜR IKU A.SA A.GA[R] n[a-d]i-a-tum KI A-W/-/MEN.ZU DUMU X - X - dEN.ZU 5 vdEN.zu-is-me-a-ni DUMU dEN.zu-e-ri-ba-am A.sA a-na er-re-su-tim a-na GÜ.UN a-na MU.I.KAM 10 u- se -si U4 BURUX.SÈ Lo.E. (seal impression) Rev. 8 SE.GUR Bi§BAN ÖUTU i-na £0/-dUTUki Ï.AG.E 15 IGI dUTU IGI dA-a IGI I-din-dEN.ZU DUMU dUTU-KUR- i-K (two seal impressions)