Position in chronology
MDP 26S, 4786
About this tablet
This is a proto-Elamite administrative accounting tablet from Susa (in modern southwestern Iran), dated to roughly 3100–2900 BCE — among the very earliest examples of writing in the world. It records quantities of one or more commodities across several line-entries, concluding with a summary total, the standard format of a proto-Elamite ledger. The signs and numerical system are characteristic of the proto-Elamite script, which remains almost entirely undeciphered: we can read the numbers with confidence but the commodity words cannot yet be translated into any known language. Its interest lies precisely in that threshold: it is organised, systematic bureaucratic record-keeping from a society whose spoken language we cannot hear.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet is an accounting record listing several entries of goods or commodities — the exact nature of which we cannot yet read — each followed by a quantity. The entries tally individual amounts (1, 2, 4 units of varying size-classes), and the final line appears to give the running total across all categories: 2 units, 4 of a second denomination, 1 of a third, 2 of a fourth, and 1 of a fifth. A heading sign at the top probably identifies the document type or institutional context, but its meaning is not yet known. The rest of the text is too broken in places to read fully.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineM157~a [heading/rubric] M038~i? M141 M086 |M036+1(N24)| : 4 (units) |M036+1(N30C)| : 1 large-unit, 2 (units) M140~a M288 : 1 (large numerical unit, type N39B) M262~b : 1 (unit) M262~ba : 1 (unit) [damaged] [...] : 1 (unit) M248~a M002 : 1 (large unit, type N30D) |M343~h+1(N30C)| M037 M288 : 1 (unit), 1 (large unit, type N39B) [damaged] M288 : 2 (units), 4 (type N39B), 1 (N24), 2 (N30C), 1 (N30D) [totals line]
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 photo12 uncertain terms ↓
- M157~a — Unidentified heading or category sign; function not yet established for the Susa corpus.
- M038~i? — Reading marked uncertain in the transliteration ('?'); sign identity provisional.
- M288 — Appears multiple times; likely a qualifier or commodity determinative, but semantic value not established.
- M262~b / M262~ba — Two variant forms of the same sign; commodity reference unknown.
- N39B — Elongated impressed numeral; commodity-specific metrological value debated — could relate to capacity or area measure.
- N14 — Higher-order numeral; conventionally ~10× N01 in sexagesimal system, but varies by commodity. Value here uncertain.
- N24 — Medium-order numeral sign; hierarchical value depends on which metrological system is in use for this commodity.
- N30C / N30D — Sub-variants of the N30 numeral series; their exact values and commodity associations are not fully resolved.
- M140~a M288 — Combination of two signs; possibly a compound category designation, but not deciphered.
- M248~a M002 — Sign combination; M002 sometimes appears as a determinative or qualifier in proto-cuneiform, but meaning here is uncertain.
- |M343~h+1(N30C)| M037 M288 — Complex compound sign with embedded numeral; the ligature structure suggests a specific institutional or commodity category, but remains unidentified.
- BA (implied in disbursement structure) — Later Sumerian 'ba' (to distribute/allot) is sometimes read into proto-cuneiform contexts structurally, but this is an extrapolation; not a secure decipherment for the Uruk period.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a small, roughly square clay tablet — the museum number 'Sb 15292' is clearly legible on the left edge, and the accession number '4786' appears in red on the top edge, confirming the object identity. The obverse (upper image) bears dense proto-cuneiform impressions across approximately ten lines; the wedge impressions and circular/oval numeral punches are clearly visible. Individual signs are difficult to match one-to-one with the transliteration signs at this resolution and given surface cracking and partial erosion, but the overall layout — category signs in the left column, numerals to the right — is consistent with the transliteration structure provided. The reverse (lower image) shows only a faint seal impression and what appear to be a few edge numerals on the left margin; the face is otherwise blank, consistent with a single-face accounting tablet. A diagonal crack runs across both faces. Because proto-cuneiform from Susa (the 'Proto-Elamite adjacent' or Susa-Uruk corpus) is not fully deciphered, and because the sign identifications rely on the scholar-provided transliteration which itself uses uncertain sign readings (marked with '?' and '#'), confidence is assessed as low. No standard English translation of these ideographic signs is possible beyond their structural/numerical roles.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 2428 in / 1240 out tokens
Transliteration
M157~a , M038~i? M141 M086 |M036+1(N24)| , 4(N01) |M036+1(N30C)| , 1(N14) 2(N01) M140~a M288 , 1(N39B) M262~b , 1(N01) M262~ba , 1(N01)# [...] , 1(N01) M248~a M002 , 1(N30D) |M343~h+1(N30C)| M037 M288 , 1(N01) 1(N39B)# M288 , 2(N01) 4(N39B) 1(N24) 2(N30C) 1(N30D)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 26S, 4786. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P009223) — 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.