Position in chronology
RIME 3/1.01.07.048, ex. add106
About this tablet
This is a short royal dedication inscription of Gudea, ruler of the city-state of Lagash in southern Mesopotamia around 2100 BCE. Gudea is famous for a burst of temple-building, and here he records that he — already known as the builder of the great Eninnu temple of the god Ningirsu — also constructed a smaller shrine called the Epa, described as 'the house of seven corners' (a building with seven niches or recesses, a recurring architectural motif in Gudea's temple building). Such texts were typically inscribed on foundation deposits, door sockets, or statues buried in the building itself, meant to be read by the gods and by future rulers who might restore the structure.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This inscription honors Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior and Gudea's divine lord. It identifies Gudea, ruler of Lagash — the same king who built the great Eninnu temple for Ningirsu — and records that he also built a second structure for the god: a building called the Epa, described as having seven corners or niches. In short: 'Gudea, who built the Eninnu, also built the Epa, his seven-niched house, for Ningirsu.'
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineFor Ningirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, his master: Gudea, ruler of Lagash, the one who built the Eninnu of Ningirsu — he built for him the Epa, his house of seven corners (niches).
Our translation engine — Sonnet 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
nin-gir2-su ur-sag kal-ga en-lil2-la2# lugal-a-ni gu3-de2-a ensi2 lagasz lu2 e2-ninnu# nin-gir2-su-[ka] in-du3-a e2-PA e2 ub 7(disz)#-[a-ni] mu-na-du3
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Lagash II (ca. 2200-2100 BC)) — RIME 3/1.01.07.048, ex. add106. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: KCA 01 (Tsurumi University Library, Yokohama, Japan) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P504428). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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