Large Sumerian Clay Cuneiform Tablet Fragment with a List of Professional Titles
Mid 3rd millennium B.C. The titles written on one face; some remaining text to reverse; a school list of Sumerian proper names that begins with lugal 'King', Sumerian names being generally small phrases. Among the names in this list = lugal-nir-gal2 'The King is Noble'; lugal-gal-zu 'The King is Wise' and; such can also be abbreviated as lugal-abzu 'The King, (in/from) the Abzu(X}' the Abzu is the home of the god Enki(X); repaired. 881 grams, 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.). Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.