Position in chronology
TMH 05, 057
About this tablet
A small Early Dynastic record from Nippur, around 2500 BCE, written when Sumerian scribes still counted with round impressions pressed into the clay. It records dimensions of a plot of land — a long side of 380 and a short side of 60 units — under a man named A-ul4-gal, followed by three more figures assigned to other named individuals, one of whom (Lu-GAN2-gid2, 'the field-surveyor') bears a title that hints at land measurement. It is a glimpse of how land was surveyed and apportioned in one of Sumer's most important religious cities.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
The nig2-ra2 plot measures 380 along its long side and 60 along its short side; it is entered under A-ul4-gal. Then three further figures: 100 for Ili-aḫi, 160 for Lu-GAN2-gid2, and 90 for A-ru-a. The back of the tablet is blank.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine6(gesz2) 2(u) [= 380] (ninda) — the long side, (of) the nig2-ra2 (plot); 1(gesz2) [= 60] (ninda) — its short side: A-ul4-gal. 1(gesz2) 4(u) [= 100] — Ili-aḫi. 2(gesz2) 4(u) [= 160] — Lu-GAN2-gid2. 1(gesz2) 3(u) [= 90] — A-ru-[a]. (reverse uninscribed)
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
6(gesz2@c) 2(u@c) us2 nig2-ra2 1(gesz2@c) sag-be6 a-ul4-gal 1(gesz2@c) 4(u@c) i3-li2-a-hi 2(gesz2@c) 4(u@c) lu2-GAN2-gid2 1(gesz2@c) 3(u@c) a-ru-[a]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — TMH 05, 057. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Hilprecht Collection, University of Jena, Germany (P020471) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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