Cuneiform Texts from Nippur: The Eighth and Ninth Season

THE EIGHTH SEASON (1962/63) The Eighth Season of the Joint Expedition to Nippur1 (September, 1962, through January, 1963) was devoted to two main tasks, completing the excavation of the Temple of "Inannan2 and sounding new ground to provide guidelines for future expeditions a t the site. Much of the excavation connected with the Inanna Temple was carried on a t Protoliterate levels, from which obviously no epigraphic material was to be expected. Work was also done, however, in parts of the Early Dynastic temple which had not been excavated before, among them a work area immediately adjoining the temple on the northeast (not indicated on the map, p. 2, where "Inanna temple" corresponds to the perimeter of the later, and larger, temple from Ur I11 on). Four administrative tablets were found in this area, three of them a t Early Dynastic I and one a t Early Dynastic I1 levels (Nos. 1 4 ) . At the southwestern end of the Early Dynastic I11outer wall of the temple a translucent gypsum bowl (No. 5) bearing the name of a previously unknown e n s i of Nippur was found. Except for a few tablets from the surface of the mound (Nos. 18, 19, and 8 NT 20), the texts came from four sounding trenches. The main trenches were Soundings M, L, N, and P (i.e., SM, etc., see map, p. Z3). Sounding M was a t the southwest edge of the mound between the temple and the bed of the ancient canal and was cut down almost to the present level of the dry canal bed. The trench was dug to test the The Eighth Season was the last undertaken jointly by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and the American Schools of Oriental Research. Mr. Richard C. Haines was field director, Dr. Donald P. Hansen archeologist, Mr. Robert H. Hanson photographer, Dr. Giorgio Buccellati epigrapher, Mr. Behnam Abu ea-Soof and Mr. ~AwwSdal-Kassiir representatives of the Directorate General of Antiquities. For help in the interpretation of the texts I am very much indebted to Professors Miguel Civil and Thorkild Jacobsen, and especially to Professors Robert D. Biggs and Ignace J. Gelb. The excavation of the temple began in 1956 and continued in the next two seasons, 1957/58 and 1960/61. See V. E. Crawford, "Nippur the Holy City," Archaeology XI1 (1959) 74-83; D. P. Hansen and G. F. Dales, "The Temple of Inanna, Queen of Heaven, a t Nippur," Archawlogy XV (1962) 75-84. The name of the goddess to whom the temple is dedicated should be read "Innin" according to I. J. Gelb, "The Name of the Goddess Innin," Journal of Near Eastern Studies XIX (1960) 72-79; the traditional reading "Inanna" is maintained by T. Jacobsen in "Ancient Mesopotamian Religion: The Central Concerns," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society CVII No. 6 (1963) 475-76, n. 6. a I am grateful to Mr. Richard C. Haines for the drawing of the map. possibility of clearing a compact area of the city and to see how the temple was situated in relation to the canal and perhaps even the city walk4 Soundings L and N were made on the western and northwestern sides of the Ur I11 temple very close to its enclosure wall in order to test the area immediately surrounding the temple. Sounding L, separated from the temple by a depression, was cut through the highest point of the mound in an east-west direction. Many meters of Parthian remains were found resting directly upon walls of the Early Dynastic period. In Sounding N, on the northern slope of the same rise, considerable burned debris under the Parthian level made it impossible to find any satisfactory stratification for the lower levels. Thus, Soundings L and N were both unsuccessful in determining the character of the area around the temple in Ur I11 times. In the area between the Inanna Temple and the Ekur there are several rises which probably cover large buildings. One of these was chosen as the location for Sounding P. An open area with afew Ur I11sherds was found under huge Parthian foundations, while a t a lower level were Early Dynastic walls of modest size. On the northwestern slope of the same rise two smaller pits were dug (SO and SQ, not shown on map), with the hope of clearing a street which in previous excavations had been found to begin a short distance to the west, near the eastern side of the Inanna Temple. The two pits were, however, completely unsuccessful in this respect because there were only Parthian foundations a t the elevation corresponding to the Ur I11 temple. Only Sounding M yielded tablets found in situ, that is, not in later fill (Nos. 6-9). They were found in the northwestern corner of a room facing the bed of the canal (SM 14, Level VI, Floor A), on a floor belonging with the eastern wall of the room. The wall was of plano-convex bricks, suggesting a date in the Early Dynastic period (a more precise dating in archeological terms must wait for a study of the pottery found in this level). The tablets themselves may be of late Pre-Sargonic or early Sargonic date. The earlier date would seem more probable for Nos. 6 and 7 for paleographic reasons (such as the shape of the signs PI, KAM, BE, and also the use of the sign PI to render the Sumerian pronominal suffix b i) and because of prosopography, if one compares these texts with the previously published Pre-Sargonic . ~ especially the name Ur-Enlil, e n s i of Nippur, which tablets from N i p p ~ rNote occurs in No. 6 ii 11 as well as in three Pre-Sargonic texts already p ~ b l i s h e dit; ~is quite likely that the same person is referred to in all cases, although this cannot be proven. I t should be stated in this connection that Sounding M was cut through an 4 According to the traditional interpretation of an ancient map of Nippur, the city wall ran along the canal corresponding to the Shatt-en-Nil, see C. S. Fisher, Excavations at Nippur, Part I (Philadelphia, 1905) p. 10, Fig. 2. However, a different interpretation of the map has been proposed by S. N. Kramer, From the Tablets of Sumer (Indian Hills, 1956) p. 272. If Kramer's interpretation is correct, the city wall would not be found along the canal. 6 BE I; PBS IX/1; TuM V ; George G. Hackman, Sumerian and Akkadian Administrative Texts from Predynastic Times to the End of the Akkad Dynasty ("Babylonian Inscriptions in the Collection of J. B. Nies," VIII [New Haven, 19581). 6 BE I, Nos. 96:6-7, 97:2; PBS IX/1, No. 10 iii 10-11. The first two texts are Pre-Sargonic on the basis of paleographic evidence (see especially the form of the signs BAD, NAM, PA);the third text is not demonstrably Pre-Sargonic, but see especially the shape of the sign PI. area already partially excavated by the University of Pennsylvania a t the end of the last century, and it is thus possible that a t least some of the tablets previously published came from the general area of Sounding M.' All other texts were found out of their original context in Parthian fill. It is especially noteworthy that a fragment of Esarhaddon's barrel cylinder originally from the Inanna Temple (8 NT 3) was found in the lowest Parthian level (VI/VII) of Sounding L, which rested upon Early Dynastic remains. This provides a good indication of the magnitude of dislocation caused by the building activity of the Parthians. Tablets bearing numbers 8 N(ippur) T(ab1et) and objects numbered 8 N(ippur) are listed in sequence. I n the case of those published here, a reference to the number in the publication is provided, and relevant information included. The abbreviation "IT" is used for Inanna Temple; "SB" is used for the Parthian building above the Inanna Temple. Locus and level numbers for the temple area and the soundings are those of the field records. TEXT NUMBER 11 (= I M 66885). SB 78, fill below Level 11. Length: 15.2 cm.; diameter a t center: 6.4 cm.; diameter a t each end: 5.8 cm. Five fragments of a baked clay barrel cylinder. Foundation inscription of Esarhaddon for the Inanna Temple. Published by G. Buccellati apud A. Goetze, "Esarhaddon's Inscription from the Inanna Temple in Nippur," JCS XVII (1963) 119, 124. (= A 32262). SL, Levels VI/VII. Length: 7.2 cm.; diameter: about 8.0 cm. Fragment of a baked clay barrel cylinder. Foundation inscription of Esarhaddon for the Inanna Temple. Published by G. Buccellati, in JCS XVII 119, 127. 10 17 8 9 14 15 16 6 7 (= A 32267). SL, fill, Levels 111-V. 3.5 X 3.8 cm. Surface badly damaged. Bulla with seal impression. Not copied. 1 3 2 13 Others came apparently from the area of the Ekur; see below, R. D. Biggs, p. 9. 20 21 22 8N 4 11 (= IM 66951). Surface. 20.5 X 15.5 X 6.8 cm. Only right side of inscription preserved. Baked brick. Inscription of Ur-Nammu, previously knowq8 but inscribed rather than stamped. Not copied. (IM, not accessioned). IT, back fill from drains east of door between IT 104 and IT 150. 11.0 X 5.4 X 3.2 cm. Fragment of stamped brick. Not copied. Last two lines of a well-known inscription of Narlm-Si~l.~ 18 5 12 No. 1, 8 N T 14 (= IM 66884). I T 395, Level I X A/3, on floor in open area in northern section of locus. 5.3 X 3.8 X 2.5 cm. Unbaked clay tablet. List of various commodities with personal names. Probably Early Dynastic I. No. 2, 8 N T 16 (= I M 66886). I T 395, Level I X A/3, on floor in open area in northern section of locus. 4.8 X 4.1 X 2.0 cm. Unbaked clay tablet. n a g a r . Probably List of professions, including, in lines 7 and 8: NUJAR, Early Dynastic I. No. 3, 8 NT 15 (IM, not accessioned). I T 395, Level I X A/3, on floor in open area in northern section of locus. 3.8 X 3.4 X 2.4 cm. Fragment of unbaked clay tablet. Text badly damaged. Reverse uninscribed. Probably Early Dynastic I. No. 4, 8 N T 19 (= A 32269). I T 397, Level VIII, eastern part of room. 9.1 X 7.2 X 4.1 cm. Fragment of unbaked clay tablet. List of various commodities with personal names. Reverse uninscribed. Probably Early Dynastic 11. No. 5, 8 N 4 ( = I M 66944). I T 205, Level VII A, on top of horizontal drain in west wall of room. Diameter of rim: 16.5 cm., diameter of base: 9.8 cm., height of bowl: 7.0 cm., thickness: 0.9 cm. Broken, translucent gypsum bowl. The inscription is complete except for part of the frame: d ~ u . ak 1a m . m a PAB.KALAM dam Nam.mab en5.si Nibru a.mu.ru 8 @ See BE I, NO. 122. See BE I, No. 4. The name of the deity in line 1 is not known to me from elsewhere. Since the bowl was found in the Inanna Temple, the term may be an epithet of the goddess (see Anton Deimel, Sumerisches Lexikon I1 [Rome, 19281 $ 68, 32).1° The e n s i Nammahll and his wife PAB.KALAM are not known from other published texts. Probably Early Dynastic 111. No. 6, 8 N T 11 (= I M 66882). SM 14, Level VI, on Floor A, in western corner of room. Found together with No. 7, below. 7.8 X 7.5 X 2.7 cm. Clay tablet. The beginning of the first sign in ii 3 (SA)is lost on the tablet, but it has been copied from an impression preserved on the hardened earth around the tablet. Legal text, mentioning Ur-Enlil, e n s i of Nippur (see n. 6 above). "Ur-Enlil, governor of Nippur, settled their lawsuit; Nagarkam was their bailiff" (ii 11% 4).12The title 1ii .GI&GAL+IM (ii 7, iii 7) is unknown to me from elsewhere. For the expression in iii 8, n a m . g ii . 8 B b a . n i . a g , see P B S IX/1, Nos. 17 rev. 9 and 45: 9. Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. No. 7, 8 N T 12 (= A 32266). SM 14, Level VI, on Floor A, in western corner of room. Found together with No. 6. 7.2 X 6.8 X 2.0 cm. Clay tablet, surface badly damaged. Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. No. 8, 8 N T 6 (= I M 66879). SM 14, Level VI, on Floor A, in eastern corner of room. Found together with No. 9. 5.2 X 3.9 X 1.7 cm. Clay tablet. ~ g a z i],13 one linen cloth, List of commodities (baskets of dates, fish, G B X B [= one kid) mentioned in connection with the "headman" ( s a g . 1ii , line 9), dGemS(?)-me-er14(line l l ) , and Aba-Enlil (line 12). The entry in line 6 is unclear. Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. . 10 Other occurrences of k a 1 a m m a in divine names and epithets are noted in C. J. Mullo Weir, A Lexiwn of Accadian Prayers (Oxford, 1934) pp. 210 f.; K. Tallqvist, Akkadische Gotterepithet. ("Studia Orientalia" VII [Helsinki,19381) p. 499; N. Schneider, Die Gotternamen von Ur IIZ ("Analecta Orientalia" XIX [Rome, 19391) p. 95. l1 The break after N a m . m a h does not leave sufficient room for any other sign; thus, the name in our text cannot be read aa N a m . m a $ .[zu+AB], attested aa an e n s i of Nippur in Recueil de travaux relatifs d la philologie et d E'archdologie bgyptiennes et assyriennes XXXI (1909) 134 and XXXII (1910) 44, nor aa N a m . m a $ [n i] , attested for an e n s i of Lagas in Franpois Thureau-Dangin, Die sumerischen und aklcadischen Konigsinschriften ("Vorderaaiatische Bibliothek" I [Leipzig, 19071) p. 226. 12For a similar formula see Hackman, Sumerian and Akkadian Administrative Texts from Predynastic Times to the End of the Akkad Dynasty, Nos. 164:8, 167:8. la Cf. B. Landsberger, "Practical Vocabulary of Assur; Selected Philological Remarks," Archiv f t i ~&ientforschung XVIII (1957-58) 337-38. l4 Ignace J. Gelb, Glossary of Old Akkadian ("Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary" I11 [Chicago, 19571) pp. 180-81. . No. 9, 8 N T 7 (= A 32264). SM 14, Level VI, on Floor A, in eastern corner of room. Found together with No. 8. 7.1 X 5.0 X 2.0 cm. Clay tablet. List of apples (g i B . a B B u r , lines 1, 13)) fir (g i B . h .KU, line lo), and figs (g i B .MA, line 15). A personal name, Tsar-beli, is mentioned in line 14. In lines 3-8 six successive entries are registered in sequential order: s a g . g 8 . k a m , "for the first time" (line 3)) 2 . k a m . B B , "for the second time" (line 4), etc. In lines 13 and 15 two summaries are given: "a total of 656 apples (brought in by) 16ar-b~li;a total of 656 figs (in place of apples?) has been taken out" (a b . t a . B , see also in line 2, with the addition n u . 6 i d , "not counted"). The figures in the totals do not agree with the sum of the entries given in the text. Also note that the fir mentioned in the text does not appear in the totals. In lines 13 and 15 I read the sign after B u n i g i n (in each line) as the sign for the figure 600 (Franpois Thureau-Dangin, Recherches sur l'origine de l'kcriture cunkiforme [Paris, 18981 No. 488), even though on this tablet the sign looks more like 1a 1 10. Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. No. 10, 8 N T 4 (= I M 66881). SM, found in removal of a Parthian wall. 9.7 X 5.5 X 2.2 cm. Complete unbaked clay tablet. List of commodities (lines 1-7) among which are s i g , B e , B e . z i d , z ii . 1u m , followed by a list of personal names (lines 8-22), for some of which the reading and interpretation are not clear. The last section (lines 23-32) contains the verb b a . t 6 m three times (lines 23,26, and 32). Note that the name Z a g . m u (line 15) occurs ten times in TuM V (see Index, p. 25); only one of these occurrences (190 1.c. 3) is in a Sargonic text, while all others are in Pre-Sargonic texts. Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. No. 11, 8 N T 1 (= I M 66880). SB 78, fill below Level 11. 3.6 X 3.2 X 1.5 cm. Fragment of baked clay tablet. Administrative text with mention of a ship from Dilmun (line 3). Early Dynastic 111-Sargonic. No. 12, 8 N 11 (= IM 66930). IT, from Ur I11 vertical drain cutting into Level VI. Inscription incised on the neck of a small single-spouted clay jar having a capacity of about 4 fluid ounces. The signs do not seem to yield any satisfactory meaning. A mirror image is shown to the right of the original inscription (see p. 29). I t is perhaps only a doodle.15 Ur III(?). No. 13, 8 N T 17 (= I M 66887). SP, surface debris, immediately below old ~ ~ with dump. Length: 3.3 cm., diameter: 0.7-0.8 cm. Baked clay " b ~ r g u l "seal negative inscription. The two lines read: Nu-ra-am-turn DAM Ip-ku-Sa . '6 Cf. W. Eilers, "Keilschriftcuriosa und Entstehung neuer Schriftarten," Miscellanea Orientalia Deimel ("Analecta Orientalia" XI1 [Rome, 19351) pp. 74-81. Is Cf. BE VI/2 p. 51; F. R. Kraus, "Nippur und Isin nach altbabylonischen Rechtsurkunden," JCS 111 (1951) 98. For a similar seal from the Ninth Season, see No. 53. Old Babylonian. No. 14, 8 N T 8 (= I M 66883). SL 10, Level VII, Parthian fill. 12.4 X 9.4 X 3.9 cm. Fragment of clay tablet. School text. The obverse contains Hh. I11 1-19, with a text very close to the standard recension as published in MSL V 92-94. The variants are primarily graphic (e.g., ka-ra-nu si'l-lib in line 15 instead of ka-ra-an s'e-li-bi; k u . k u r in line 16 instead of k u . u k . r u) , except for line 14 which reads: g i 8 . g e k t i n . n u n u z : pir->u(instead of g i k . g e k t i n . b i 1 : biz-lum). Note also the following mistake in line 10: g i k . b a r . s i . k i n instead of g i k . b a r . k i n . The reverse is a writing exercise with several entries, often repeated, among which are the following personal names: m8-kur-za-kir (eol. iv'); fdNa-nu-a-ba-nu-at (col. iii'); fIna-l?-kur-~r.A~.~d-at (= raimat, col. iii'). Neo-Babylonian. No. 15, 8 NT 9 (IM, not accessioned). SL 10, Level VII, Parthian fill. 4.0 X 4.9 X 1.9 cm. Fragment of clay tablet. May be a fragment from tablet No. 14 (both are from the same locus) since the same text, which was repeated a t least twice on No. 14, is also found on No. 15. The two fragments do not join. School text. The obverse contains Hh. 111 13-18, with the same type of variants as those found in No. 14. Reverse broken. Neo-Babylonian. No. 16, 8 N T 10 (= A 32265). SL 10, Level VII, Parthian fill. 3.5 X 4.0 X 1.8 cm. Fragment of clay tablet. Neo-Babylonian. No. 17, 8 N T 5 (= A 32263). SP, Parthian fill. 4.6 X 4.3 X 1.0 cm. Fragment of baked clay tablet. School exercise. Reverse broken. Neo-Babylonian. No. 18, 8 N T 22 (IM, not accessioned). Surface, west end of West Mound. 4.0 X 1.8 X 0.4 cm. Fragment of baked clay tablet. B . ~Ninurta-aba-iddina), u and in line 7' Personal names: in line 5' d ~ ~ S . B ~ (i.e., d ~ ~ . ~ ~(i.e., ~ Nabti-abbe-eriba) . ~ ~ . s u ; and names of professions: in lines 2', 3', 10' L~.MU~ALDIM (i.e., nubatimmu), and in line 9' L~.BAPPIR (i.e., siras&).Reverse broken. Neo-Babylonian. No. 19, 8 N T 18 (= A 32268). Surface. 1.9 X 1.8 X 0.6 cm. Fragment of clay tablet. Probably a medical text. Reverse broken. Neo-Babylonian. THE NINTH SEASON (1964/65) Since the work of the expedition for the Ninth Season of the excavations of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago a t Nippur1 was concerned with the Parthian fortress around the ziggurat, rich finds of epigraphic material were not anticipated and did not occur. Nevertheless, a number of inscriptions were found, both within the Parthian structures and in the course of removing dumps left by previous expeditions. Many are fragmentary, but the potential value of even these small fragments must not be underestimated. One of these proves to come from a stele of Lipit-Ibtar inscribed with what may be part of his famous Law Code or an official edict. In light of these finds, it is now possible to supplement what could be learned previously about some aspects of the work of the expeditions of the University of Pennsylvania in the years 1888-96. For example, it can now be stated with certainty that most, if not all, of the Sargonic tablets from Nippur published in PBS IX/1 and TuM V come from excavations in the area of the Ekur since several found in the dump obviously belong to the same archive (Nos. 20-22). The script is precisely that of the Sargonic text PBS IX/l, No. 23, as can be seen from the photograph on Plate 72. In the case of the Sumerian votive inscriptions, there was no doubt that they came from the area of the Ekur and the Ekiur.2 More recent finds have confirmed this. A large portion of the tablets come from chance finds on the surface of various parts of the mound. One of the striking aspects of previous seasons' work a t Nippur, a t least so far as publicly known, has been the paucity of Akkadian literary texts (as opposed to the many thousands of Sumerian literary texts, most of which came from "Tablet Hill"), so that one had the impression that Nippur was not a center of any importance for scribal activity even in Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian times. I believe that this impression is not accurate and that excavations elsewhere on the mound might well bring to light the scribal center of the late periods. Two NeoMr. James Knudstad was field director, Mr. McGuire Gibson archeologist, Miss Diane E. Taylor archeological assistant, and Dr. Robert Biggs epigrapher. Mr. Tarik al-Janabi and Miss Selma al-Radi were the representatives of the Directorate General of Antiquities. A brief report on the excavations by James Knudstad appears in Sumer XXII (1966) 111-14. A more comprehensive preliminary report by Mr. Knudstad, which includes the second season of excavations of the fortress, will appear in a forthcoming volume of Su?ner. 'Some finds are described by J. P. Peters, Nippur I1 (New York and London, 1897) 160; see alao Hilprecht, BE I Part 2, pp. 8 f. and p. 59. Babylonian h d s in particular, 9 NT 21, a fragment of a so-called prophecy text, and 9 N T 20, a small, poorly preserved fragment of astrological omens, make it clear that Nippur did indeed share the common scribal tradition with Assur, Nineveh, Calah, etc. The inscriptions published here include all those of any possible significance. Tablets designated 9 N(ippur) T(ab1et) and objects numbered 9 N(ippur) are listed in sequence. In the case of those published here, a reference to the number in the publication is provided, and relevant information included. "FI" is used for Parthian Fortress I. Locus and level numbers are those of the field records. "Area I dump" was located over the south corner of the Parthian Phase 1/11 fortress. This dump was from the University of Pennsylvania excavations in front of the ziggurat. "Area I11 dump" was located inside the southeast outer wall of the Parthian Phase I11 fortress near Room 16 of the Pennsylvania plan.3 Plans of the several phases of the fortress can be found in the preliminary report on the Tenth Season (see n. 1). Measurements are given in the sequence height, width, thickness; in the case of fragments, the greatest preserved dimensions are given. I t is to be noted that in the case of stone bowls the rim is considered the top and that the published copies have been turned to the normal direction for reading. TEXT NUMBER 20 27 21 24 26 22 35 31 30 25 28 (IM, not accessioned). Area I dump. 3 X 3.7 X 0.4 cm. "Chaldaeanl' inscription in proto-Arabic script, published by Biggs, Bulletin of fhe American Schools of Oriental Research 179 (Oct., 1965) 36-38. 32 34 23 29 (= A 32330). FI 35, south corner, Floor 4 fill (found in a mud brick). 4.5 X 4.9 X 1.8 cm. Unbaked Ur I11 fragment, mostly destroyed. Not copied. a C. S. Fisher, Excavations at Nippur, Part 2 (Philadelphia, 1906) P1. XIV. TEXT NUMBER (IM, not accessioned). Surface. 4.6 X 3.9 X 2.3 cm. Poorly preserved fragment of Ur III(?) text. Not copied. (IM, not accessioned). Area I dump. 1.6 X 3.3 X 0.5 cm. Fragment of Old Babylonian contract(?). Not copied. 33 (= A 32332). Surface. 7.4 X 7.2 X 1.9 cm. Neo-Babylonian fragment of socalled prophecies. Published by Biggs, Iraq XXIX (1967) 117-32. 44 37 (= A 32679). Pennsylvania dump west of Shatt-en-Nil. 8.0 X 9.0 cm. Fragmentary brick stamp of gar-kali-iarri. Duplicate of BE I, No. 3. Not copied. (= A 32680). Pennsylvania dump west of Shatt-en-Nil. 4.0 X 3.2 cm. Fragment of baked clay brick stamp, only part of d or L ~ preserved. L Not copied. (= A 32681). Pennsylvania dump west of Shatten-Nil. 5.6 X 5.1 cm. Fragment of baked clay brick stamp of Nariim-Sin. Duplicate of BE I, No. 4. Not copied. (= IM 70313). Area I dump. 5.4 X 6.2 cm. Fragment of baked clay brick stamp of Bar-kali-iarri. Duplicate of BE 1, No. 3. Not copied. 46 36 48 50 45 (= A 32702). Area I dump. Fragment of white stone bowl with part of the sign MU. Not copied. 54 56 57 40 51 42 43 (= IM 70320). F I 60, fill above Floor 1.7.8 X 11.8 cm. Fragmentary baked clay brick stamp of NarBm-Sin. Duplicate of BE I, No. 4. Not copied. 53 41 58 39 55 49 47 (= A 32779) F I 17, on Floor 8 as one of a row of bricks. 32 X 32 X 7 cm. Brick with inscription of Kurigalzu stamped on the edge. Duplicate of BE I, No. 38. Not copied. 52 38 No. 20,9 N T 1 ( = I M 70322). Area I dump. 3.4 X 3.3 X 1.3 cm. Old Akkadian record of receipt of barley, dried fish, and salt. Similar texts are P B S IX/1, No. 23 and Manchester Cuneiform Studies IX, Part 1 (1964) No. 240. For the month name ITI Ba-bi-ir IGI.ME, see I. J. Gelb, Sargonic Texts from the Diyala Region ("Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary" I [Chicago, 19521) pp. 233 f . No. 21, 9 N T 3 (= I M 70323). Area I dump. 4 X 3.8 X 1.5 cm. Old Akkadian document involving thirty and a half minas of silver for making a number of objects called sa-i-e, unattested elsewhere. Note that silver is also mentioned in connection with GIB.GAN in another Old Akkadian document from Nippur, PBS IX/1, No. 22: 1; cf. also P B S IX/1, No. 30. See No. 22, where gold is received by the same man. No. 22, 9 N T 6 (= A 32323). Area I dump. 4.3 X 4.4 X 1.6 cm. Old Akkadian record of delivery of gold "for the two mouths(?) of the great dragon," no doubt referring to a representation of a dragon in the temple (probably Ekur). Ib-lu-zi-DINGIRalso receives gold in another Nippur text, TuM V, No. 51. No. 23, 9 N T 15 (= A 32328). Surface. 4.4 X 3.4 X 1.5 cm. Old Akkadian tablet, receipt of barley by four persons. Reverse uninscribed. No. 24, 9 N T 4 (= I M 70324). Area I dump. 5.1 X 4.6 X 1.9 cm. Poorly preserved fragment of Old Akkadian contract. No. 25, 9 N T 10 (= A 32325). Area I dump. 5.6 X 4.6 X 2 cm. Undated Ur I11 memorandum concerning vessels described as "from Nippur" and "from Uruk." The vessels are mainly those known to be used in brewing, though two of them (d u g . g a 1 and d u g . z a g . Bk - 1 8 ) are used for oil according to the text in D. D. Luckenbill, Inscriptions from Adab ("Oriental Institute Publications" X I V [Chicago, 19301) No. 178. Most of the names also occur in H. de Genouillac, Textes de l'bpoque d'Agu.de et de l'bpoque d' Ur ("Inventaire des tablettes de Tello conserv6es au Musde Imperial Ottoman" I1 [Paris, 1910-111) No. 892 (duplicate in F. Thureau-Dangin, Recueil de tublettes chalddennes [Paris, 19031 No. 307) and H. de Genouillac, Epoque prbsargonique, bpoque d'Agadb, bpoque d'Ur ("Inventaire des tablettes de Tello conservdes au Musee Imperial Ottoman" V [Paris, 19211) No. 6763. d u g . u . k u r . b a 1 is a variant writing for the pot d u g . u . g u r . b a l (M. Civil, in Studies Presented to A. Leo Oppenheim [Chicago, 19641p. 70, line 53, and discussion p. 85). d u g . s i g is known to me only in this text, but d u g . s i g . a occurs in the forerunner to Hh. X , MSL VII 206, line 50, written d u g . a . s i g in Hh. X 93. I t also occurs in the Sumerian composition Bird and Fish, a . B e ds d u g . s i g . a(variant: . b 6) m a . r a . d 6 . e . n e , a reference which I owe to M. Civil. No. 26, 9 N T 5 (= I M 70325). Area I dump. 4.1 X 3 X 2.2 cm. Fragment of Ur I11 contract with names of witnesses preserved. Seal impression of I-sar-ba-dun occurs twice on the edge. No. 27, 9 N T 2 ( = A 32322). Area -I dump. 3.2 X 3 X 1.4 cm. Ur I11 record of a loan. Only traces of writing remain on the reverse and edges. No. 28, 9 N T 11 (= I M 70311). FI 10, Floor 3 fill. 7 X 5.1 X 2.7 cm. Ur I11 document concerning receipt of silver. Reverse (not copied) has only a few signs preserved. No. 29, 9 N T 16 (= A 32329). Surface. 3 X 2.8 X 1.8 cm. Old Babylonian tag(?). No. 30, 9 N T 9 ( = I M 70310). Surface. 5.8 X 11.4 X 3 cm. Fragment of cylinder of Esarhaddon's foundation inscription for ~.BAR.DT?R. GAR.RA, the temple of IStar, duplicate of that published by A. Goetze in JCS XVII 119-31. Note that in lines 10 and 11 the text is preserved intact where lacunae were assumed by Goetze. The following are the principal variants to the transliteration established by Goetze: In line 5: ti-Jak]-Si-du-Jfi 7 : d50, ma-li-ki 8: ma-ba-zi 9: sa-li-me 10: pa-rak da-ra-[ti] 11: ud-di-Su ul-tu qb-rib, ti-ki-nu No. 31, 9 N T 8 ( = I M 70309). Surface. 1.9 X 4.4 X 1.8 cm. Neo-Babylonian school tablet. The obverse has part of the b a S b u r section of Hh. 111. It differs somewhat from the standard recensions. Cf. MSL V 96. The fragment can be read as follows: giS.bagbur x x[ g i g . b a g $ u r . k u r . r a <:> dr-ma-[nu] [g] i 9 . b a 8 b u r . k u r . r a < : > dr-gun-n[am(?)] [ g i ] S . b a F J b u r . B r . m a n <:> dr-ma-nu The remains on the reverse probably come from a different composition, as is usual with school vocabulary exercises. No. 32, 9 N T 13 ( = A 32326). Surface. 4 X 3.5 X 1 cm. Neo-Babylonian fragment of a copy of a brick inscription (read in the colophon: [SIG~.A]L.~R.RA LIBIR.RA). No. 33, 9 N T 20 (= A 32331). Area I dump. 6.2 X 3.2 X 1.2 cm. Neo-Babylonian astrological fragment concerned with Venus, with Elamite month names4 (Ji-ir-'i e-r[e-Si], line 8'). The subscript (written in larger characters) has ITI Tam-bi-ru (another Elamite month name), and the notation NU.AL.T[IL], "unfinished." No. 34, 9 N T 14 (= A 32327). Surface. 3.8 X 3.6 X 1.2 cm. Neo-Babylonian fragment of a contract involving sale of property. No. 35, 9 N T 7 (= A32324). Area I dump. 2.2 X 2.9 X 0.8 cm. For the Elamite month names, see Hinz, in Orientalia NS XXXII 18. Another astrological text in which a number of Elamite month names occur is C . Virolleaud, LJAstrologie chalde'enne (Paris, 1907) Part 2 (Qamd)No. 14. Fragment of Neo-Babylonian document giving dimensions and location of property. No. 36, 9 N 48 (= I M 70315). Area I11 dump. 3.7 X 3.0 cm. Fragment of inscription of Lugalkinigedudu on white stone bowl; corresponds to BE I, NO. 86:7-9. No. 37, 9 N 34 (= IM 70312). Area I dump. 3.0 X 2.3 X 0.6 cm. Fragment of white stone bowl with inscription of Lugalzagesi; corresponds to BE I, No. 87 i 31-33. No. 38, 9 N 242 (= A 32781). Surface, West Mound. 3.2 X 2.4 X 1.0 cm. Fragment of inscribed white stone bowl. Probably Lugalkinisedudu or Lugalzagesi. No. 39, 9 N 205 ( = I M 70321). FI 21, Floor 1 fill. 8.1 X 6.5 cm. Fragment of a black stone vase with Pre-Sargonic votive inscription ([n a m . t ] i . d a [a.mu].ru). No. 40, 9 N 132 (= I M 70317). Surface. Fragment of white stone bowl with inscription, only a g r i g . x preserved. No. 41, 9 N 165 (= A 32741). Surface. 4.0 X 2.4 cm. Fragment of inscribed white stone bowl. No. 42, 9 N 149 ( = IM 70318). F I 6, Floor 3 fill. 4.5 X 5.2 X 1.6 cm. Fragment of inscription on a green stone bowl. The signs are extremely well engraved and appear paleographically to be Pre-Sargonic. No. 43, 9 N 150 (= I M 70319). Surface. 5.0 X 4.6 X 0.9 cm. Fragment of inscription of RimuF on white stone bowl. Duplicate of BE I, No. 5. No. 44, 9 N 33 (= A 32678). Area I dump. 6.8 X 8 X 1.4-1.7 cm. Fragment of inscription of Rimus on white stone bowl. Duplicate of BE I, No. 5. No. 45, 9 N 77 (= IM 70541). Area I dump. 2.5 X 1.6 cm. Fragment of inscription of Rimus on white stone bowl. No. 46, 9 N 43 (= A 32685). Area I11 dump. Height 5.0 cm. Fragment of inscription on a white stone bowl which has part of the base preserved. No. 47, 9 N 232 (= A 32776). Surface. 4.4 X 2.1 cm. Fragment of Ur I11 royal inscription with part of the royal titulary on black stone which has been recut. No. 48, 9 N 63 ( = IM 70540). Area I dump. 3.5 X 1.7 X 1.5 cm. Fragment of Ur III(?) royal inscription on blue stone (perhaps from a statue) apparently cut for reuse. No. 49, 9 N 215 (= A 32768). FI 52, Floor 4 fill. 13 X 7.2 cm. Inscribed fragment of a black stone stele. It is part of the same stele as PBS XV, No. 47, as my comparison of the originals has confirmed. The fragment in PBS XV is almost flat and clearly does not belong close to this fragment, which is moderately curved. The text is an official proclamation of Lipit-Istar (in PBS XV, No. 47 read [L]i-pf-it-~fi~A~ [d u m u dE]n . 1i 1 . 16 [m e] . e n). It is perhaps a fragment of the Lipit-IBtar Code. Col. iii, lines 7-9 of this fragment are duplicated by Lipit- IStar Code, col. vii, lines 1-3 (F. R. Steele, The Code of Lipit-Ishtar ["Museum Monographs" (Philadelphia)] p. 13 [reprinted from American Journal of Archaeology LII (1948) 435]), but the known text of the code is almost completely destroyed in the surrounding columns so it cannot be identified with certainty. The phraseology of our small fragment suggests that it may equally well be an edict, perhaps one concerned specifically with Nippur. No. 50, 9 N 70 ( = IM 70316). Area I dump. 7.2 X 5.5 cm. Fragment of black stone statue (?) with inscription in Sumerian. No. 51, 9 N 134 ( = A 32732). Area I dump. 3.5 X 3.5 X 1.2 cm. Fragment of inscribed black stone bowl. No. 52, 9 N 239 (= I M 71230). Surface. 32 X 32 X 7 cm. Brick with inscription of KadaBman-Enlil in Sumerian on the side, previously unpublished. 1 dEn.lil 2 1ugal.kur.kur.ra 3 1ugal.a.ni 4 Ka-da-[cis*]-ma-an-dEn-lfl 5 sipa sun=(su~).na 6 dEn.lil.da giB.tuk 7 k i s s a (KI.BE&.DQ.A). mah 8 6.kur.ra.ka 9 sig4.al.hr.ra 10 m u . ~ u No. 53, 9 N 155 (= IM 71220). F I 16, Floor 3 fill. Height 2.6 cm., diameter 0.6 cm. Baked clay seal of the "burgul" type. The inscription reads: A similar seal, apparently belonging to a different person with the same name, is No. 13 (8 NT 17). It is to be noted that both these seals are cylinders rather than rectangular slabs as Poebel (BE VI/2 p. 51) describes L'burgul'l seals. No. 54, 9 N 96 (= A 32710). Area I dump. 1.8 X 2.3 cm. Fragment of Middle Babylonian(?) bulla with inscription in Sumerian. Line 3 appears to be the last line of the inscription. No. 55, 9 N 214 (= A 32767). Pennsylvania dump south of Parthian Fortress wall. Width 3.2, thickness 0.2 cm. Fragment of lapis lazuli votive disc of NazirnaruttaB (restoration of Nusku, Enlil, or Ninurta in the first line is equally possible). The text can be restored from numerous parallels, e.g., B E I, No. 136 No. 75 (= PBSXV, No. 54), B E I, No. 58 (both NazimaruttaS), B E I, Nos. 59, 61 (both KadaSmanturgu), etc. Line 7 + appears to be the last line of the obverse, so it is probable that a-na nu-pis-ti-Ju nu-$a-ri was omitted from this text. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 [a-na dNusku] [be-1;-Ju] N[a-zi-ma-ru-u&taJ] SIPA ki-n[u-um pa-li-ib-Ju] DUMU Ku-r[i-gal-zu] ik-ri-[bi-Ju] a-nu 6-me-[el un-ne-ni-Ju [le-qi-el UD-mi-J[uur-ru-ki] AS.MENA~.[ZA.G?N eb-be] [zil-[Je-pi$-ma] [a-na ba-la-ti-Ju] [i-qi-ia No. 56, 9 N 99 (= IM 71204). Found during construction of Expedition House, southeast of house site in thick, extensive ash layer. 13.0 X 18.0 X 13.0 cm. Inscription on black stone duck weight from the time of Marduk-Bapiq-zeri. It reads : NA4 10 MA AJ-nap-sa-me-nib UGULA AZU ~ u . 2 ~ d50.~A 8 ARAD d ~ S U - ~ ~ - ~ ~ - N U M U N~ LUGAL K~.DINGIR.RA.KI.KE~ ~ . No. 57, 9 N 124 (= A 32727). Surface. 2.6 X 1.1 cm. Black and red agate bead with votive inscription of KaBti1iaB.G No. 58, 9 N 170 (= A 32744). Surface. Diameter 1.9 cm,, thickness 0.3-0.4 cm. Neo-Babylonian baked clay bead with inscription around the sides. "is name appears in another text from Nippur written *Nap-same-en-nil with the title d50, in a text dated to the second year of Marduk-nadin-a&i, knowledge of which I owe to Professor Jussi Aro of the University of Helsinki. It therefore appears possible that A & ahould be considered a personal name determinative. A similar bead with an inscription of &agaraktiBuria8was published by Wkeman, Iraq XV (1953) 149, ND 3498. Borger, Einleitung in die assyrischen Konigsinschri,ften (Leiden, 1961) pp. 72 f. suggests that it may have been brought to Calah in the time of Tukulti-Ninurta I, though one should consider the possibility that it came from Nippur in modern times, carried by a Sherqati workman in hope of getting a larger bakshish than he would expect a t Nippur. L ~ J . ~ ANU.EB L AUTOGRAPHED TEXTS obv. obv. rev. rev. 8 obv. rev. 9 obv. rev. 10 obv. 10 rev. left edge obv. rev. (reversed) obv. i I1 ... 111 16 obv. rev. obv. obv. rev. rev. obv. 5 seal impression obv. rev. rev. THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ASSTRIOLOGICAL S T U D I E S N O . 77 CUNEIFORM TEXTS FROM NIPPUR THE EIGHTH AND NINTH SEASONS BY GIORGIO B U C C E L L A T I and R O B E R T D. BIGGS T H E ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF T H E UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ASSYRIOLOGICAL STUDIES T H E UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS NO. 77 CHICAGO ILLINOIS Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-58161 THEUNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGO 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London, W . C . 1 @ 1969 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved Published 1969. Printed in the United States of America FOREWORD An extraordinary wealth of cuneiform documents has come to light in ten seasons of excavations a t Nippur since World War 11. The seasonal increments are necessarily irregular and somewhat accidental; a t times the expedition's epigrapher is almost submerged in the brute tasks of baking, cleaning, restoring, and cataloguing, while a t other times the gleanings have been relatively slight. Final publication and discussion of these texts naturally will take place for the most part within limited temporal or analytic categories, but a more immediate task is to communicate the range and essential character of the material to other scholars even while further studies proceed. This is what the present volume is intended to do. Although covering findings of only the eighth and ninth seasons of excavations (in 1962/63 and 1964/65), this volume represents the first publication under the auspices of the Oriental Institute of tablets found a t Nippur in excavations which the Institute has sponsored alone or jointly with other institutions. I t comprises a miscellaneous group of texts extending from Early Dynastic into Neo-Babylonian times, and includes administrative documents, royal inscriptions, votive inscriptions, and examples of the traditional scribal repertory, such as lexical lists and astrological and medical texts. We are extremely grateful to Drs. Robert D. Biggs and Giorgio Buccellati not only for having taken the responsibilities of the epigrapher in the field during their respective seasons but also for having assumed the initiative in completing a catalogue of their findings with a welcome minimum of delay. Dr. Biggs is currently preparing a second catalogue covering more than two thousand texts found during the first three seasons of post-war excavations. I n large part, of course, the inverted order of publication of the texts from these seasons is a reflection of the amount and complexity of the material that is included. The cumulative task of making the constantly increasing collection of new Nippur texts fully and systematically available to scholars has become an awesome one. The present volume also is to be understood as the expression of a serious commitment to this task on the part of the Oriental Institute. ROBERTMcC. ADAMS Director CHICAGO June 1968 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS. PAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix vii ABBREVIATIONS Hh. IM JCS MSL MSL V MSL VII PBS PBS IX/1 P B S XV TuM TuM V Tablets in the collection of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. Pennsylvania. University. The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. Series A: Cuneiform texts, ed. by H. V. HILPRECHT (Philadelphia, 1893-1914). H. V. HILPRECHT.Old Babylonian inscriptions, chiefly from Nippur. Part 1, Nos. 1-85 (1893). Part 2, Nos. 86-152 (1896). ARNOPOEBEL.Babylonian legal and business documents from the time of the First Dynasty of Babylon, chiefly from Nippur (1909). Lexical series FAR. r a = ~ u ~ u Z published ~U, in MSL. Tablets in the collections of the Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Journal of cuneiforni studies (New Haven, 1947--). Materialien sum sumerischen Lexikon (Rome. 1937--). BENNOLANDSBERGER. The series ~ A R r. a = b.ub~Ilu,Tablets I-IV (Rome, 1957). BENNOLANDSBERQER. The series ~ A R r. a = ~ubuZlu,Tablets VIII-XI1 (Rome, 1959). Pennsylvania. University. University Museum. Publications of the Babylonian Section (Philadelphia, 191I--). GEORGE A. BARTON. Sumerian business and administrative documents from the earliest times to the Dynasty of Agade (1915). LEONLEGRAIN.Royal inscriptions and fragments from Nippur and Babylon (1926). Jena. UniversitEt. Texte und Materialien der Frau Professor Hilprecht Collection of Babylonian Antiquities im Eigentum der Universitat Jena (Leipzig, 1932--) . ALFREDPOHL.Vorsargonische und sargonische Wirtschaftstexte (1935).