Index of translations of Sumerian tablets
The newest story is first. This volume closes at 50. The next volume opens when this one is full.
| No. | Story | Tablet | Place | On the tablet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | They Will Confirm | P145366 | Umma | A list of Umma villagers, pairs of men who “will confirm”, and a potter who swears his oath. Year not given. |
| 29 | Flour for the Road East | P128508 | Girsu | Flour for envoys bound for Si’u, Susa and Huhnuri, and eight days’ flour for a captain’s son hunting runaways. Year not given. |
| 28 | The Boundary Orchard Gang | P116379 | Girsu | Nineteen men for the boundary orchard, fourteen of them listed as runaways, from Ur, Nippur and temple households. About 2049 BC. |
| 27 | Counted Short | P405496 | Umma | Four runaway workers, the overseers they answered to, and the bookkeeper’s verdict: a shortfall. Year not given. |
| 26 | Flour for an Oath | P292102 | Umma | Two litres of flour for the swearing of an oath, and “the overseer of the runaways”. About 2038 BC. |
| 25 | Whatever Is in the Basket | P113937 | Puzriš-Dagan | Before five witnesses, Zazana’a swears by the king to make good whatever a basket of sealed receipts records. Year not given. |
| 24 | Seventy-Three Dead Animals | P110315 | Girsu | Dead oxen, calves, donkeys and sheep add up to 73, and Sidu swears an oath about them. About 2046 BC. |
| 23 | Out of Custody in Nippur | P113796 | Nippur | Five men from Ur, Girsu and two other towns, fed flour for 24 days after coming out of custody. About 2040 BC. |
| 22 | The Jenny and Her Foal | P339940 | Umma | A female donkey and her foal: two witnesses come forward, and once they swear, Ina-ṣir may take her. About 2045 BC. |
| 21 | Oil for the Women of Šara | P142753 | Umma | Sesame oil for about sixty women of the god Šara, and three names marked “fled” with nothing beside them. About 2041 BC. |
| 20 | From Flight | P390085 | Umma | One garment each for four workers, two of them marked “from flight”, with their overseers. Probably about 2026 BC, possibly about 2070 BC. |
| 19 | Beer for the Fugitive-Catchers | P248719 | Girsu | Beer and flour for two fugitive-catchers, one an Amorite, a shepherd of the dogs, and hostel donkeys. Year not given. |
| 18 | The Lady’s Runaway Fisherman | P110355 | Girsu | Travel rations for Elamites from Šimaški, riders to Susa, and a captain’s son sent after the Lady’s runaway fisherman. Year not given. |
| 17 | Once Inim-Utu Swears | P339320 | Umma | The man behind a sale has died, so three witnesses come forward and one must swear an oath. About 2045 BC. |
| 16 | Never Sold | P339321 | Umma | A sale is undone eleven years later, when a claim of “not sold” is confirmed before the governor. About 2045 BC. |
| 15 | Akaka, Seven Shekels | P412053 | Umma | A woman named Akaka changes hands for 7 shekels, with a guarantor, seven witnesses and a sealed envelope. About 2040 BC. |
| 14 | The Moon God’s Donkeys | P136341 | Ur | Šagul of Irisagrig steals two donkeys apparently branded as the moon god’s, confesses, and a guarantor steps in. About 2037 BC. |
| 13 | Twice She Ran | P131571 | Puzriš-Dagan | Geme-Baba fled twice; then an oath by the king, before five witnesses, that she would not flee again. About 2027 BC. |
| 12 | Say to Lalli’a | P450151 | Garšana | A tiny letter order to Lalli’a, still in its envelope, sealed by a scribe who served Šu-Kabta, the physician. About 2033 BC. |
| 11 | The Hunt for the Palace’s Runaways | P128507 | Girsu | Flour for a man sent to catch the palace’s runaway women, and for thirteen captured Elamites. Year not given. |
| 10 | Forty-Two Women of Nippur | P248903 | Umma | A mill account for 42 women of Nippur: 33 at work, one fled, eight dead and named. About 2042 BC. |
| 9 | Property of the Palace? | P200714 | Umma | A man buys a slave; another declares him “a slave of the palace”, and he is handed back. About 2045 BC. |
| 8 | The Physician’s Missing Slave Woman | P130120 | Umma | A physician buys a slave woman; the seller’s brother takes her away, and his wife confirms a sale. About 2042 BC. |
| 7 | A Herd Shared Out | P115520 | Puzriš-Dagan | Fifty-five cattle and donkeys from a soldier’s property go to a man of Mari, the king’s brother, a judge and a singer. About 2043 BC. |
| 6 | Two Goats for the Road to Elam | P406567 | Girsu | A livestock ledger catches envoys setting out for Susa, and Elamites heading home. Year not given. |
| 5 | Bail in Nippur | P122219 | Nippur | A farmer takes a man out of custody and swears by the king to bring him back if he runs. About 2024 BC. |
| 4 | Dirt on the Gardeners | P324075, P324198 | Garšana | Two gardeners, a boat trip for soil, and two confessions before the same four witnesses. About 2031 BC. |
| 3 | The Archivist Who Erased a Tablet | P492893 | Girsu | Nearly 14,000 litres of barley erased from the records, and an oath to put the line back. About 2058 BC. |
| 2 | Unchained | P142864 | Nippur | A carpenter in copper shackles, a guarantor, and an oath sworn by the king. About 2044 BC, possibly later. |
| 1 | The Goat That Was Stolen and Cooked | P113863 | Umma | A clay receipt names a goat thief, and it carries the provincial governor’s seal. About 2028 BC. |