Ancient Near East, northern Babylon, late Old Babylonian period, ca. 1700 to 1600 BCE. A hand-built terracotta cuneiform tablet, rectangular in form and rounded along the peripheries, concerning the misappropriation of servants to a military subordinate. The letter contains sixteen individual lines of Akkadian cuneiform script, formed by impressing a sharpened reed or wooden stick into the still-wet clay prior to the kiln-firing process. The top of the letter does not display any text, though text adorns the obverse, reverse, and bottom faces. Cuneiform was a generally pictographic style of writing in its infancy, though it became a more abstract style of letter-based script around the 3rd millennium BCE. Lucite display stand for photography purposes only. Size: 1.75" W x 2.875" H (4.4 cm x 7.3 cm).

While this tablet has been translated, some of the sign forms are unusual. This said, our general understanding is that the letter is written by a military subordinate addressing his captain/commander about the misappropriation of servants that were to be put under his command.

The translation is as follows, "Say to the captain whom Marduk preserves, 'Thus says Ninurta(!?)-mushallim: 'May Shamash and Marduk preserve you! May you live (long), may you be well! Concerning my servants "of" Sin-ma…(and?) Warad-Nabium, the commander, whom you took and you should interrogate those servants of mine, you will learn that they are my servants. You must not...(illegible). Today... (illegible). The payment in silver for them I will pay back. Bring them so I can take. Station them at the grain storage depot.'"

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#132503

Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age as expected, fading to some impressed lettering, light discoloration, small nicks to corners, and a couple of stable pressure fissures, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits within recessed areas.