Position in chronology
MAD 4, 058
About this tablet
A herding account from Umma in southern Iraq, written in the Old Akkadian period (around 2300 BCE). It records a shortfall of goats — animals a shepherd named Utu-mu was responsible for but could not produce — itemized under two account-holders, Ur-Šara and Ur-Suen. The final line, '6 years, 3 months', shows the span over which the deficit accumulated: ancient livestock bureaucracy tracked shepherds' obligations over remarkably long periods and held them accountable down to the single kid.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This is a running tally of missing goats. Ten nanny goats and seven male kids — seventeen animals in all — are outstanding on Ur-Šara's account. Another four nannies and one male kid are missing from Ur-Suen's account. The whole shortfall is charged to Utu-mu, the shepherd who was responsible for the flocks, and it covers a period of six years and three months.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1. Deficit: 10 mother (nanny) goats, 2. 7 male kids; 3. total: 20 minus 3 (= 17) goats — 4. it is (the account) of Ur-Šara. 5. 4 mother (nanny) goats, 6. 1 male kid — 7. it is (the account) of Ur-Suen. 8. (This is the) deficit 9. of Utu-mu, the shepherd. 10. 6 years, 3 months.
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
la2-ia3 1(u) ud5 ama 7(disz) masz2-nita szunigin 2(u) la2 3(disz) ud5 ur-szara2-ka-kam 4(disz) ud5 ama 1(disz) masz2-nita ur-suen-kam la2-ia3 utu-mu sipa-da-kam 6(disz@t) mu 3(disz@t) iti
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Akkadian (ca. 2340-2200 BC)) — MAD 4, 058. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P215220) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved).
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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.
A window into the world's first total state. The Ur III administration tracked every animal, every worker, every shekel — for a population in the millions. The level of paperwork was not exceeded until the modern era.