Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2270 BCE · CBS 04677 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 024
In plain English
Eight gold bison-man figures and two gold laḫmu (hairy-hero) figures: Išmuṭu and Ikbari fastened them in place. Also eight copper bases for the ... (the final word is unclear). That is the whole record.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 8 bison(-figures) (kusarikkū), 2. 2 laḫmu-figures (laḫmān), 3. (of) gold — 4. Išmuṭu(?) 5. and Ikbari 6. fastened (them). 7. 8 copper bases (for) ... (GAN₂).”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04676 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 025
In plain English
Two worked silver pieces of the GAN₂ kind, two silver tusān-objects, four silver belts, six silver dal-vessels, some further silver item whose name is lost, and one more silver object of uncertain name. Their silver weighs in total about 6 talents and 20 minas. Two lines are then lost. The text ends by stating that these things are held in the house of a certain person, with another name (ending in -mati-) qualified as 'the small one' — in other words, this is where the silver is currently kept.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 2 silver manufactured objects (nig₂-dim₂) of the GAN₂-type, 2. 2 tusān(-objects) of silver, 3. 4 belts of silver, 4. 6 dal-vessels of silver, 5. [...] ... of silver, 6. [1] ...-GIR-... of silver; 7. [its silver]: 6(?) talents 20 minas. 8. [...] 9. [...] 10. in the house of ... [...] 11. [...]-mati-..., the small(er) one, 12. they are (present).”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04698 + CBS 04699a — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 026
In plain English
What survives reads like an issue ledger. The opening line records something for a laḫmu (the name or term is damaged). Then: 40 talents and 15 minas — well over a tonne of material — allocated for six large brick units, followed by another entry of so many talents and 32 minas. After that only the numbers remain: 6 of something, perhaps 20, perhaps 10, then 24 of something, then 3. Everything after the quantities, and the rest of the tablet, is broken away.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(obverse) 1. [For x] laḫmu [...] 2. 40 talents 15 mi[nas] 3. for 6 large brick-[sets?] [...] 4. [...] talents 32 mi[nas] 5. 6 ... [...] 6. 20(?) [...] 7. 10(?) [...] 8. 24 ... [...] 9. 3 [...] (rest destroyed)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04696 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 027
In plain English
The top of the tablet is lost. What survives reads: so many shekels of copper for a number of urakkum-items belonging to the ration allotment, each measured at one reed; then some minas and 4 shekels of copper for an item whose name ends in -matum; then some minas and 6 shekels of copper for one large urakkum; and finally an entry for small urakkum-items. The rest of the account is broken away.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Beginning destroyed) 1. [...] shekels of copper 2. [for x] urakkum(s) of the ration (allotment), 3. those of 1 reed each; 4. [n] mina(s) 4 shekels of copper 5. [for ...]matum; 6. [n mi]na(s) 6 shekels of copper 7. [for 1] large urakkum; 8. [... for ... urakkum(s)] small. (rest destroyed)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04672 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 028
In plain English
Nine ganūnu went into one water-buffalo figure for a door bolt, and another nine into a second water-buffalo figure for a bolt. Three ganūnu were used for pegs, two for the small pieces, and one for a support, along with one fitting for the city gate. This is the third tablet in the series, continuing from the previous one.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 10 less 1 (= 9) ganūnu 2. for 1 apsasītum (water-buffalo figure) of the bolt; 3. 10 less 1 (= 9) ganūnu 4. for 1 apsasītum (water-buffalo figure) of the bolt; 5. 3 ganūnu 6. for the peg(s); 7. 2 ganūnu 8. for the small ones; 9. 1 ganūnum 10. for the support (and) 1 fitting of the city gate. 11. Third (tablet), following.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04673 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 029
In plain English
Thirteen and a half units of ganūnu were set aside for a single bolt with a dragon on it; one and a half units for the saḫartum; and five units for pegs. This is the sixth record in the sequence.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 13½ ganūnu 2. for 1 bolt (of/with) a dragon, 3. 1½ ganūnu 4. for the saḫartum, 5. 5 ganūnu 6. for pegs. 7. The sixth (entry), following in sequence.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04695 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 030
In plain English
This is a tally of allotments, item by item. For one of the first (broken) item, four ganūnu; for the next, three and a half; for the next, four and a half; for another, four again. Then for one wooden door bolt, three and a half ganūnu, and for a second wooden bolt the amount is lost. The final line seems to have numbered the last item and marked it as second-grade or as the next in the series, but the surface is too damaged to be sure. The left side of nearly every line is broken, so what each of the first four items was cannot be recovered.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[F]or 1 ... [...]: 4 ga[nūnu]; for 1 ... [...]: 3½ ga[nūnu]; for 1 ... [...]: 4½ [ganūnu]; for 1 [...]: 4 ga[nūnu]; for 1 wooden bo[lt ...]: 3½ ga[nūnu]; for 1 wooden [bolt ...]: [nth (item), second (grade) / adjoining].”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 04694 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 031
In plain English
This is a slice of a longer tally. Entry number twenty-two comes to about 630 talents (part of the figure is broken away); entry twenty-three comes to 640 talents; entry twenty-four comes to 635 talents. What came before entry twenty-two and what followed entry twenty-four are not included in the piece we have, so the opening, the grand total and the purpose of the count are lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Beginning not preserved in the given text) 1. The 22nd [(section), following (us2)]: 2. 630(+?) [talents (gu2)]; 3. the 23rd (section), [following]: 4. 640 talents; 5. the 24th (section), [following]: 6. 635 talents. (rest not given)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry