Original: clay; impressed, replica - plaster cast
circa 1700-1600 BCE
Iraq
Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient Mesopotamia
Theme
Writing
Subtheme
Token to Epic
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
(ancient Sippar), Iraq
Measurements
8 x 15 Diameter. 4 cm
Accession Number
VAT 04105
Description
In Mesopotamia, wedge-shaped characters were scratched on soft clay with a pointed reed – the cuneiform script. The clay was then sun-dried or baked – a quick way of creating lasting records. Across West Asia, cuneiform was used for over 3,000 years to write many languages on clay, stone and papyrus. Writing often records stories that had been recited orally for centuries.
The tablet is part of the famous Mesopotamian story of Gilgamesh, one of the world’s oldest known epics.
