Babylonian Clay Tablets collection

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MG 5723

Staff Only

Abstract

Two clay tablets with cuneiform writing dating from 2400-2340 BCE and correspondence about the provenance and provenience of the clay tablets.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 2400 - 2350 BCE

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research. Restrictions apply: Special Collections and Archives staff are required for handling.

Biographical / Historical

Major W.W. Woods donated these tablets to the University of Idaho in 1923.

In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. These tablets were found at Jo-kha, the ruin of the city of Umna in Central Babylonia (now Iraq). Umna was an important provincial center; over 30,000 cuneiform tablets have been recovered, most are administrative and economic texts. One tablet in isolation fails to give a sense of context.

Extent

0.5 Cubic Feet (Document box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Original order retained.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials in this collection were donated by Major and Mrs. W.W. Woods in 1923. The descriptive documents were found by Erin Stoddart in Garth Reese's office in 2015. Documents were placed in a box with the tablets.