Cuneiform Collection – SMM 7
For transliteration, translations, and discussions on the individual texts, click on the links below.
| Museum #: | SMM 14/24 (14/7) | Period: | Ur III dynasty, ca. 21st cen. BCE |
| Publ. #: | SET 266 | Date: | Amar-Suen, year 7, month 1; ca. 21st cen. BCE |
| Acquired from: | C. Ames, 1915 | Provenience: | Umma (Jokha), Iraq Sumer-Southern Mesopotamia (view map) |
| Measurements: | H 40, W 42, Th 14 mm* | Culture: | Sumerian |
| Condition: | Intact; baked | Language: | Sumerian |
| Description: | Cuneiform tablet, with seal impression. Record of field to be harvested |
| Transliteration: | Translation: |
|---|---|
| obv. 1. 3 gán še še-gur10-a | 1. 3 acres barley, for harvest, |
| 2.a-šà gišma-nu | 2. Field of the Ash Trees |
3. Dada sipa ša |
3. Dada, the swineherd |
| 4. kišib Lugal-é-ma- e lo.e. (Blank) |
4. Seal(Ed by) Lugal-emae |
| rev. 5. iti še-gur10-ku5 (seal impression) |
5. Month of barley harvest, |
6. mu  u-u-nu-riki BA UL |
6. year Huhnuri was destroyed. |
| Seal legend: | |
|---|---|
1. Lugal-é-ma- e
|
1. Lugal-emae,
|
| 2. dub – sar | 2. scribe, |
| 3. dumu Lugal-kù-ga-ni
|
3. son of Lugal-kugani |
Click on picture for larger view
Discussion
According to this tablet, Dada the swineherd was responsible for harvesting three acres planted in barley, located within a tract of arable land in the area of Umma which was called "Field of the Ash-Trees."** Lugal-emae, son of Lugal-kugani, sealed this and many other tablets concerning agricultural work.†
* Measurements of seal impression:
- height of seal impression – 25.5 mm.
- height of seal legend – 24.5 mm.
- width of seal legend – 15 mm.
** Attestations of this tract are collected in G. Pettinato, Untersuchungen zur neusumerischen Landwirtschaft I (Napoli: Instituto Orientale di Napoli, 1967), Part 2, no. 567, pp. 81-3; identification of gišma-nu as the Syrian ash courtesy M. Civil, personal communication.
† See the list under seal no. 442.1 in R. Mayr's catalogue, Seal Impressions of Ur III Umma, pp. 345-7.