Position in chronology
Nisaba 25, 56
About this tablet
A small administrative tablet from the Early Dynastic city of Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar in southern Iraq), recording allocations of bread, beer, barley, and cattle against named individuals or institutional categories. The entries follow the classic format of early Mesopotamian ration and disbursement records: a number, then a commodity or recipient. The term 'abgal' — a Sumerian word for a sage or ritual expert — is notable in the final line, suggesting some of these allocations may have been directed to temple personnel or learned specialists. The tablet is held by the British Museum under museum number U.18378.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet records a series of allocations at Ur. Two large units of bread (akullû-type loaves) are listed first; then four portions go to someone or something called ama-pa-gu₂-si. Single portions are assigned in turn to nam₂-bilx, to amar-e₂-nun, and to persons whose names are now damaged or lost. A count of cattle follows (one large unit plus two medium units). Then come bread rations of the me-ararma₂ type (one large, one medium, and one small portion), and one portion of beer or barley. Two fractional portions are assigned to nam₂-ŠEŠ+IB and to lu-du. Finally, four portions go to the abgal — the sages or ritual experts. Several lines in the middle are too damaged to read.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine2(N14@f) [+?] |NINDA2׊IM|# — bread (akullû-loaves?) 4(N01@f) — basket(s) of ama-pa-gu₂-si 1(N01@f) — nam₂-bilx — (commodity/title?) 1(N01@f) — amar-e₂-nun 1(N01@f) — x-x [...] — x-[...] 1(N01@f)# — IŠ ZU#? 1(N19@f) 2(N04@f) — ab (cows/cattle) 1(N14@f) 1(N01@f) 1(N08@f) — ninda me-ararma₂ (bread/ration of the me-ararma₂ type) 1(N01@f) — beer (and/or) barley 1(N08@f) — nam₂ |ŠEŠ+IB|# 1(N08@f) — lu-du# 4(N01@f) — abgal (sage/expert)
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Transliteration
2(N14@f)# , |NINDA2xSZIM|# ak-lu-lu# 4(N01@f) , szen ama-pa#-gu2-si 1(N01@f) , nam2-bilx(|NE.PAP.UET2_077|)#? 1(N01@f) , amar-e2#-nun 1(N01@f)# , x-x [...] , x-[...] 1(N01@f)# , ISZ ZU#? 1(N19@f) 2(N04@f) , ab 1(N14@f) 1(N01@f) 1(N08@f) , ninda me!-ararma2 1(N01@f) , kasz sze 1(N08@f) , nam2# |SZESZ+IB|# 1(N08@f) , lu-du# 4(N01@f) , abgal
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC)) — Nisaba 25, 56. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: British Museum, London, UK (P449043) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware).
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Related sources
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.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.