Position in chronology
Nik 1, 034
About this tablet
This is a land-survey record from Girsu (Tello) in southern Iraq, roughly 2400 BCE, during the Early Dynastic period of the city-state of Lagash. A scribe recorded the measured length and width of two fields — one called 'Tug-siga' and the other 'Kigal' — and calculated their areas in the standard units bur3 and iku, then noted what the land was used for: part of the ruler's household estate, part set aside as pasture for donkeys, and part as a subsistence plot for the ensi2 (the city's ruler-governor). The survey was carried out or certified by En-iggal, an inspector (nu-banda3) well known from other Lagash administrative tablets of this era, who served under the rulers Lugalanda and Urukagina. Texts like this show the sophisticated bureaucratic land-management system of one of the world's earliest cities.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
A government surveyor measured two plots of farmland belonging to the city-state of Lagash. The first field measured about 125 and a half rods long by 60 rods wide, giving an area of 4 bur3 and 3 iku; this plot was known as 'Tug-siga.' The second field measured about 120 and a half rods long by roughly 12 rods and 3 cubits wide, with an area of 1 bur3 and 2 iku; this one was called 'Kigal.' The record notes that this land belonged to the ruler's household estate, that part of it was set aside as grazing ground for donkeys, and that part served as a personal subsistence allotment for the ensi2, the city's governor. The survey was overseen by the official En-iggal, and the tablet closes with a note that four (plots or measurements) were surveyed in total.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine150 1/2 5 gi (rods) — the long side, aligned/verified; 60 gi (rods) — the front (short side), aligned/verified. Its area: 4 bur3 3 iku — the field "Tug-siga" ("cloth-filled" field). 120 1/2 gi (rods) — the long side, aligned/verified; 10 1/2 2 gi (rods), 3 kuš3 (cubits) — the front (short side), aligned/verified. Its area: 1 bur3 2 iku — the "Kigal" field ("high-ground/socle" field). Field of the household-estate (nig2-en-na). Field set aside for the donkeys. Subsistence-allotment (šuku) of the ensi2 (ruler-governor). En-iggal, the nu-banda3 (inspector/overseer). Surveyed (mu-gid2): 4(?).
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
2(gesz2) 1/2(disz) 5(disz@t) gi us2 sa2* 1(gesz2) sag sa2 GAN2-bi 4(bur3@c) 3(iku@c) GAN2 tugx(LAK483) si-ga 2(gesz2@c) 1/2(disz) us2 sa2 1(u) 1/2(disz) 2(disz@t) gi kusz3 3(disz@t) sag sa2 GAN2-bi 1(bur3@c) 2(iku@c) GAN2 ki-gal2 GAN2 nig2-en-na GAN2 dur3-re2 gar-ra szuku ensi2-ka en-ig-gal nu-banda3 mu-gid2 4(|ASZxDISZ@t|)?
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — Nik 1, 034. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (P221741) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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