Position in chronology
MDP 26S, 4754
About this tablet
A proto-Elamite administrative tablet from Susa (modern Shush, southwestern Iran), dating to roughly 3100–2900 BCE — among the earliest writing in the world. The tablet records quantities of unidentified commodities or categories of goods, each entry pairing a sign or group of signs with a numeral. Proto-Elamite writing has never been deciphered: the signs cannot be read phonetically, and the commodity referents remain unknown, so the tablet can be described structurally but not translated in the conventional sense. Tablets like this one are the earliest paperwork of an urban administrative system that stretched across ancient Iran, tracking resources with a precision that required a new technology — writing.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet opens with a heading or category marker whose meaning is lost to us. What follows is a series of entries, each pairing one or more commodity signs with a quantity: one unit of something, one unit of something else, two units plus a sub-quantity, six units of another category, and so on through several more entries — some now too damaged to read. Near the bottom, larger numerical notations appear. The rest of the surface is broken away. In essence, it is a tally sheet: goods counted, categories distinguished, quantities recorded. What those goods were, we cannot say.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine[Heading/rubric: M157~a] [Category sign M038~e + M141 + M264~a(?)] , 1(N01) [M261~d(?)] , 1(N01) [M036 + 1(N24)] , 2(N01) 2(N1@b) [M036 + 1(N30D)] , 6(N01) [M323~i(?) + x + ...] , [...] [M297] , 3(N39B) [M038~a + M080~b + M387 + M009(?) + M263~a(?)] , 2(N01) [... + M388(?) + M305(?) + M066(?) + M338~b(?) + x] , [...] [...] , [...] 1(N39B) 1(N39C) 1(N34)
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Engine notes
read from photo9 uncertain terms ↓
- M157~a — Unidentified proto-cuneiform sign; its commodity or institutional category is not yet established for Susa tablets of this period. Functions as a heading or rubric.
- M264~a#? — Uncertain reading flagged by the scholar (# and ?); sign identity at this position debated.
- M261~d#? — Reading uncertain; variant form of M261 or a related sign; damaged area on tablet.
- N24 — Medium-order numeral whose absolute value depends on the metrological system in use for the commodity being counted; cannot be converted to a precise modern quantity without fuller context.
- N39B / N39C — Elongated impressed numerals used in specific metrological subsystems, possibly for area or capacity; exact commodity-specific values remain debated in Uruk-period scholarship.
- N34 — High-order numeral sign; likely a grand total entry but this depends on the metrological subsystem; exact quantitative value cannot be specified without fuller context.
- M038~e / M038~a — Two variant forms of M038 appear in different lines; the distinction in meaning between variants at Susa is not fully established.
- M323~i# — Uncertain reading; broken context; sign identity partially lost to surface damage.
- M388#? M305# M066#? M338~b# — All readings in this line are flagged as uncertain by the scholar; the passage is heavily damaged and cannot be read with confidence from the photograph.
Reasoning ↓
Visual examination of the photograph (top face, the inscribed obverse) confirms a small, roughly rectangular clay tablet in poor condition: the surface is eroded, the lower right corner is broken away, and several signs in the lower half are partially lost. In the upper register I can make out groups of impressed and incised wedge-clusters consistent with proto-cuneiform signs, including what appear to be rounded numerical impressions (N01-type) to the right of sign groups — this broadly aligns with the transliteration's structure of sign + numeral pairs. The sign in the first line (M157 as a heading) appears as a distinct cluster of strokes at upper left, consistent with its role as a category determinative. Numerical impressions in the mid-section (small round holes = N01; elongated impressions = possibly N39B/N39C) are visible but not individually verifiable at this resolution. The reverse (lower image) shows no legible inscription — consistent with the transliteration having content only on the obverse. The label 'Sb 15264' (museum accession) and 'C4754' (field number) are visible in modern ink on the pieces. The fragment to the upper right with red-ink marks appears to be a separate joining or comparison piece, not the main tablet. Discrepancies: the lower rows of the transliteration involve multiple uncertain readings (marked #) that cannot be independently confirmed from the photograph due to surface damage and resolution limits. The N34 final-line total is a standard Uruk-period accounting convention and is plausible but not visually confirmable here.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 2257 in / 1250 out tokens
Transliteration
M157~a , M038~e M141 M264~a#? , 1(N01) M261~d#? , 1(N01)# |M036+1(N24)| , 2(N01) 2(N1@b) |M036+1(N30D)| , 6(N01) M323~i# x [...] , [...] M297 , 3(N39B) M038~a M080~b M387 M009# M263~a# , 2(N01)# [...] M388#? M305# M066#? M338~b# x , [...] [...] , [...] 1(N39B)# 1(N39C) 1(N34)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 26S, 4754. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P009192) — 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.