Ur III Administrative Tablet (Drehem)

Language: Sumerian
Period: Ur III (Neo-Sumerian), ca. 21st century BC

English Translation

Obverse
1. 1 barig, 1 ban2 (approx. 70 liters) of fresh apples
The determinative {gesz} indicates a product of a tree; haszhur duru5 refers specifically to fresh, as opposed to dried, apples.
2. from the onion-field
The term ki-szum2-ma ("place of onions") indicates that these apples were harvested from trees growing in an area primarily used for onion cultivation, a common intercropping practice in Umma.
3. 1 barig, 3 ban2 (approx. 90 liters) of fresh apples
4. to the palace

Reverse
1. delivered.
2. Via Lu-Ninshubur.
The official "Lu-Ninshubur" (literally: "Man of the deity Ninshubur") acted as the conveyor or supervisor of this transaction.
3. Month: "Sowing" (Month 4 of the Umma calendar).
4. Year: The god Šu-Suen
5. (is) king.
Lines 4 and 5 comprise the year formula for the first regnal year of Šu-Suen (ca. 2037 BC).

Vocabulary & Scholarly Notes

• barig: A unit of capacity equivalent to 60 sila3 (approx. 60 liters).
• ban2: A unit of capacity equivalent to 10 sila3 (approx. 10 liters).
• haszhur: Usually translated as "apple," though in some contexts it may refer to other pome fruits like apricots or quinces.
• duru5: (Akkadian ruṭbu) "Fresh" or "moist."
• e2-gal: (Akkadian ekallum) "Palace" (literally: "Big House").
• giri3: (Akkadian pànu) A technical term in administrative texts meaning "via" or "under the authority of," indicating the person who facilitated the transfer.
• iti szu-numun: The fourth month of the year at Umma, typically falling around June/July, which aligns with the seasonal harvest of certain early fruit varieties.

This tablet is typical of the "bureaucratic engine" of the Third Dynasty of Ur, where every transfer of goods—even relatively small amounts of fruit—was meticulously recorded by scribes to ensure accountability within the state-run economy.