RTC 109 = RA 04 16 47


LineText originalText translated
o. 1'⸢x⸣ […]
o. 2' 3c dug […]  3 jars (of 30 sila/litres each) …
0 =======
r. 1' 2c dug i3 k[eše2-ra2(?)]  2 fastened jars of oil;
r. 2' 4c dug i3 du10[-ga][glossary=i3 du10-ga] 4 jars of aromatized oil;
r. 3' 7c dug i3 eren[glossary=i3 eren] babbar 7 jars of (aromatized) ‚white cedar‘-oil;
r. 4' 1c dug i3 ad2[glossary=i3 ad2] i[m-ma-kam] 1 jar of (aromatized) ad-oil, as of last year;
r. 5' 1c dug i3 ma-at-⸢qum⸣[glossary=i3 ma-at-qum] mu ĝešu5-šub ba-dim2 1 jar of sweet oil, year: the brick mould was fashioned;
r. 6' 1c dug ĝeštin keše2-ra2 20 [sila3] / i3 nin-ki-ib-tum[glossary=i3 ligidba] i3 ad2 ba-⸢x⸣ 1 fastened jar of wine of 20 sila/litres,  (aromatized) nikib-oil and ad-oil was […];
r. 7' 1c i3 ma-at-[qum] saman4⌉ […] 1 oil bottle of sweet oil [of x sila/litres],
r. 8' 1c i3 ši-iq-d[um] / saman4[glossary=saman4] 5 [sila3] 1 oil bottle of almond oil of 5 sila/litres,
Commentary

This is perhaps the most detailed list of aromatized oils from the palace archive of Gudea’s dynasty, but since the final part of the text is not preserved, the administrative context remains unknown. The year-date mentioned in r.1 can most probably be attributed to the city-ruler Gudea (Carroué 1997: 27); the fragment was nevertheless not included in the collection of Maiocchi/Visicato 2020.

o. 6′: The restoration im-[ma-kam] „of last year“ has been deduced by the appearance of a year date in r.1; for a similar distribution see RA 5 82 AO 03322 = AGGT 573.
r.1 and 3: i3 matqum „sweet oil“ is only attested here; CAD Š/3 p.95 s. v. šiqdu 2. b) translates „one jar of sweet (almond?) oil, one jar of (bitter) almond oil“
r.2: On ad2 see Brunke/Sallaberger 2010: 50 sub 4, and on the various writings of the aromatic ligidba[glossary=ligidba] = nikiptu see Brunke/Sallaberger 2010: 50 sub 12. Because of its usage in rituals to protect the diviner, Maul 2018: 181-82 suggests a tree like cinnamomum camphora, which provides the strong-smelling and antiseptic campher; the genus cinnamomum, however, is not at home in southwestern Asia.

Bibliography

  • Brunke/Sallaberger 2010 = Brunke, Hagan; Sallaberger, Walther (2010): Aromata für Duftöl, in: Kleinerman, Alexandra; Sasson, Jack (eds.), Why Should Someone Who Knows Something Conceal It? Cuneiform Studies in Honor of David I. Owen on His 70th Birthday. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press, 41–74.
  • Carroué 1997 = Carroué, François (1997): La chronologie interne du règne de Gudea, partie I, in: Acta Sumerologica 19, 19–51.
  • Maiocchi/Visicato 2020 = Maiocchi, Massimo; Visicato, Giuseppe (2020): Administration at Girsu in Gudea's Time. Antichista 27. Studi orientali 10. Venezia: Edizioni Ca'Foscari.
  • Maul 2018 = Maul, Stefan M. (2018): „Ninurta-Duft“ oder: Von den Vorsichtsmaßnahmen, die ein mesopotamischer Heiler ergreifen sollte, bevor er einen erkrankten Patienten aufsuchte, in: Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 108, 175–191.