The New “pisan-dub-ba” Tablet from the Time of the Ur III Dynasty, in the Collection of the National Museum in Wrocław (Poland)

Abstract

This article presents the publication and analysis of a previously unpublished Neo-Sumerian cuneiform tablet from the Ur III period (ca. 2110-2005 BC) held in the collection of the National Museum in Wrocław, Poland (museum number MNWr XXI-90). The tablet belongs to the rare category of administrative documents known as pisan-dub-ba ("basket with tablets"), which served as archival tags attached to baskets containing collections of administrative and business records in Mesopotamian archives. The study provides a comprehensive examination of this small clay tablet measuring 40 × 33 × 18 mm, which is dated to the 9th year of King Šu -Suen’s reign (ca. 2030 BC) of the Ur III Dynasty. Despite significant damage to the tablet’s surface, the author successfully identifies it as belonging to the subcategory of settlement balance documents (niĝ₂-ka₉-ak or nikkassum), representing one of only five known examples from this specific regnal year.

The article begins with an extensive introduction to pisan-dub-ba documents, explaining their function as organizational tools in ancient Mesopotamian archival systems. These tags, representing less than 0.8% of all known Neo-Sumerian texts (approximately 800 out of over 100,000 published documents), provided crucial information about the contents of document baskets, including the types of records stored, relevant personnel, and dating information. Through careful epigraphic analysis, the author reconstructs portions of the damaged text, identifying several personal names, including Ur-abba, Lugal-ursaĝ, Lu-Nanna, and others, whose activities were documented in the settlement balances contained within the marked basket. The prosopographic evidence strongly suggests the tablet's provenance from the Ĝirsu archive, one of the major provincial administrative centers of the Ur III kingdom. The author also discusses the tablet's acquisition history, noting its donation to the museum in 1974 and its previous ownership by collector Jan Kuglin.