Position in chronology
MSVO 3, 49
About this tablet
An early administrative tablet from the Uruk period (roughly 3200–3000 BCE), probably originating from the city of Uruk in southern Iraq. It records disbursements or allocations of cereal — most likely barley — across several named institutions or locations, including Šuruppak and an entity called KINGAL. The numerical notations use the archaic proto-cuneiform system of impressed circles and crescents that preceded written numbers as we know them. This is one of the oldest forms of bureaucratic record-keeping in human history, tracking how grain moved between institutional authorities in the very earliest Mesopotamian city-state system.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet records a series of grain allocations across different institutions or places. One large quantity goes to BA KI; another unit goes to KALAM-BULUG3 under the overseer category PA~a. Seven-and-a-half units of grain are assigned to BULUG3 at Šuruppak. One unit is noted for MUSZEN (birds?) associated with barley. A further entry combines SI4~f and NI~a with SA~c — the meaning of this line remains unclear. Finally, two-and-a-third units of barley go to KINGAL. The rest of the entries are too damaged or ambiguous to read with certainty.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1(N34) 3(N14) [units], BA KI 1(N45) [units], KALAM~b BULUG3 PA~a 7(N14) 3(N01) [units], BULUG3 SZURUPPAK~b 1(N45) [units], MUSZEN SZE~a [...], SI4~f NI~a SA~c 2(N34) 3(N01) [units], SZE~a KINGAL
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Transliteration
1(N34) 3(N14) , BA KI 1(N45) , KALAM~b BULUG3 PA~a 7(N14) 3(N01) , BULUG3 SZURUPPAK~b 1(N45) , MUSZEN SZE~a , SI4~f NI~a SA~c 2(N34) 3(N01) , SZE~a KINGAL
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — MSVO 3, 49. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway (P005360) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware).
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.
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.