MSVO 1, 231

~3100 BCE·Uruk Period·P005298

Translation · reference

Experimental

Source: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P005298.

Translation · AI engine

read from photo

Low confidence

[...] 2, NAM2(?) [...] 2(?), PAP~a [...], [X] SZU SZITA@g~a [...] 1(?), EN~a(?) [X] SAG(?) 2(?) [...], SZU(?) [...] 2, BU~a(?) [X] [...] , [...]

8 uncertain terms ↓

NAM2# — Marked uncertain in transliteration; in proto-cuneiform administrative context may be a title element or determinative rather than 'fate/destiny'; cannot verify from photo.
PAP~a — Possibly 'elder', 'ancestor', or a supervisory title; meaning in Uruk-period administration is debated.
SZU — Possibly the hand/receive sign (later Sumerian ŠU, 'hand'); administrative meaning here unclear — could denote receipt or a personal name element.
SZITA@g~a — Graphemic variant of the mace/weapon sign; @g marks a specific sub-type; whether this denotes an actual weapon, a ceremonial object, or functions as a determinative is uncertain.
EN~a# — Archaic EN sign; likely denotes a high-status institutional role (lord, high priest) but the # signals editorial uncertainty in the reading itself.
SAG# — Later 'head/person'; in administrative contexts can mark a total or personnel count, but the # indicates the sign reading here is uncertain.
BU~a#? — Both the sign identity (~a variant) and reading are doubted by the editor (#?); no established administrative meaning confirmed for this period.
X — Used throughout the transliteration to mark signs that could not be identified by the editor; cannot verify from photo.

Reasoning ↓

The photograph shows a broken clay tablet fragment displayed from multiple angles (obverse, reverse, edges, and top). The obverse face (centre image) is the most legible: horizontal ruling lines dividing the surface into registers are clearly visible, consistent with proto-cuneiform administrative tablets of the Uruk/Jemdet Nasr period. Within the registers I can make out impressed circular (round) signs — consistent with the N01 numerals noted in the transliteration — and several incised angular signs in what appear to be the left and right columns of each register. The sign forms are very worn and the lower portion of the obverse is heavily abraded or missing. The reverse (bottom large image) is essentially blank or too eroded to read any signs. I can broadly confirm the presence of multi-column register layout and numerical impressions consistent with the transliteration's N01 counts, but individual sign identifications such as NAM2, PAP~a, EN~a, SZITA@g~a, BU~a cannot be confirmed at this resolution and preservation state. The transliteration is provided by CDLI editors and is taken as the authoritative reading; the photo corroborates the general tablet format but cannot resolve the many uncertain signs marked with # in the transliteration. This is a transliteration-supported reading with limited visual confirmation.

Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 2186 in / 992 out tokens

Why it matters

Transliteration

[...] 2(N01) , NAM2# [...]
2(N01)# , PAP~a
[...] , X SZU SZITA@g~a
[...] 1(N01)# , EN~a# X SAG#
2(N01)# [...] , SZU# [...]
2(N01) , BU~a#? X [...]
, [...]

Scholarly note

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — MSVO 1, 231. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Attribution

Image: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK (P005298) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P005298..

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Related sources

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