Position in chronology
MDP 17, 267
About this tablet
A small clay accounting tablet from Susa in southwestern Iran, written in the still-undeciphered Proto-Elamite script around 3100–2900 BCE. It records quantities of two or three different commodities — the signs M367 and M006 — counted in a decimal-style numerical system where a circular impression stands for ten of the small wedge-shaped units. Because Proto-Elamite word-signs remain unread, we can follow the arithmetic but not name the goods. It is the ordinary bookkeeping of an early city: someone tallying deliveries or disbursements, the kind of record that made large-scale administration possible before true writing of language existed.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
The ledger lists item M367 at 6 units, item M006 at 4 units, another entry of M367 whose figure is lost, and item M006 (a variant form) at 14 units — one 'ten' mark plus four singles. Three further entries survive only as numbers: 3 units, 40 units, and 1 unit, their commodity signs broken away. The rest of the surface is damaged or left blank, so the total and any account-holder's name, if there ever was one, are gone.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineObverse (sign M367): 6 units [(N01)] [...] (sign M006): 4 units (N01) (sign M367~a1): [...] (sign M006@g~1): 1 ten-unit (N14) and 4 units (N01) [...] [...] : [...] 3 units (N01) [...] : [...] 4 ten-units (N14) [...] : [...] 1 unit (N01) (The remainder of the tablet is broken or uninscribed; no further legible entries.)
Our translation engine — Opus 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Engine notes
read from photo4 uncertain terms ↓
- M367 / M367~a1 — Proto-cuneiform commodity sign; its precise referent (a type of grain, vessel, or other good) is debated for Susa period tablets. The tilde-a1 variant may indicate a modified form of the base sign.
- M006 / M006@g~1 — Another proto-cuneiform commodity or institution sign; '@g' denotes a rotated or otherwise graphically modified form. Exact referent uncertain without fuller context.
- 1(N14) — N14 is a large round impression representing a higher-order unit. In the sexagesimal system it equals 10× N01, but in other metrological systems (e.g., capacity measures) the ratio differs. Without knowing the commodity, the absolute quantity cannot be determined.
- 6(N01), 4(N01), 3(N01), 1(N01) — Basic unit counts; the hash marks (#) in the transliteration indicate the reading is uncertain due to damage — these numbers may be slightly different.
Reasoning ↓
Visually examining the photograph: the main inscribed face (upper-centre panel) shows a small clay tablet in poor but partially readable condition. On the left side of the obverse I can make out two roughly circular impressions consistent with round-stylus N01 numerals, and above them what appears to be a cross-shaped or forked sign plausibly matching M367 or a related early pictogram. To the right of centre there are additional wedge-like marks that could correspond to the M006 commodity sign and further N01 impressions. The surface is eroded and has a diagonal crack/chip running across the lower-right of the obverse, which accounts for the lacunae flagged in the transliteration. The reverse/lower face (bottom panel) shows only faint indentations and a circular impression — consistent with the sparse surviving entries at the bottom of the transliteration. The side and top pieces visible in the image appear to be the edges and reverse, not additional inscribed surfaces. The museum number 'Sb 22429' and collection number '267' written in modern ink/paint are clearly visible on the edges/reverse. Overall the photo confirms the presence of circular numerical impressions and at least one commodity sign, broadly consistent with the scholarly transliteration, but resolution and damage prevent sign-by-sign verification. Many entries cannot be confirmed from the photo.
Generated by Claude Sonnet 4.6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 1530 in / 910 out tokens
Transliteration
M367 , 6(N01)# [...] M006 , 4(N01) M367~a1# , [...] M006@g~1 , 1(N14) 4(N01)# [...] [...] , [...] 3(N01)# [...] , [...] 4(N14)# [...] , [...] 1(N01)#
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 17, 267. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P008465) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
Related tablets
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.
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.