Finding Aid for the Edward A. Dickson Cuneiform Tablet collection, Ur III period-Neo-Babylonian period (ca. 2100-562 BCE)
Transliterations by Justin Cale Johnson. Processed by Sara Brumfield in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT),
with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2008; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Edward A. Dickson Cuneiform Tablet collection
Date (inclusive): Ur III period-Neo-Babylonian period (ca. 2100-562 BCE)
Collection number: 1813
Creator:
Dickson, Edward A.
Extent:
1 oversize box.
Abstract: The majority of the eight tablets are administrative in nature, citing loans, receipts, and inventories. Most of the administrative
texts date to the Ur III period (Third Dynasty of Ur). One tablet contains a royal inscription from the Early Old Babylonian
period (ca. 2000-1800 BCE) on a clay cone. This collection was donated to UCLA by Edward A. Dickson.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Processing Note
Transliterations by Justin Cale Johnson. Processed by Sara Brumfield in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT),
with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2008.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Edward A. Dickson Cuneiform Tablet collection (Collection Number 1813). Department of Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Biography
Edward Augustus Dickson donated his collection of tablets to the University of California-Los Angeles. Dickson was one of
the founding fathers of the Los Angeles campus for the California university system. He was appointed to Board of Regents
in 1912 and served until his death in 1956, at the age of 76.
Scope and Content
The majority of texts in this collection are administrative in nature, citing loans, receipts, and inventories. All but one
of the administrative texts date to the Ur III period (Third Dynasty of Ur), known for its abundance of economic documents.
During the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2004 BCE), the state reached a level of centralization that was unprecedented. To accommodate
the large population of workers and products under this state run economy, written records of business transactions and inventories
were constantly issued.
The collection also contains a royal inscription from the Early Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1800 BCE) on a clay cone.
Clay cones were often used to commemorate the building of monumental architecture. An inscription praising the king and his
deities would be written around the cone on its vertical axis. Then the cone would be inserted into the wall of the structure
obscuring the inscription from human eyes.
The cone is from the reign of Lipit-Ishtar (ca.1934-1924 BCE). His seat of power was in the city of Isin. Lipit-Ishtar is
best known for his set of laws, issued even before Hammurabi's famous law code. When Lipit-Ishtar published his law code,
he also built the Enisisa (literally, "house of justice") and he had its construction recorded on over a hundred clay cones,
of which this is just one.
Organization and Arrangement
Tablets are described at the item level.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Dickson, Edward A. (Edward Augustus), 1879 or 80-1956--Archives.
Related Material
Cumberland Clark Cuneiform Tablet Collection (Collection 1826) Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Container List
Box 1
Item: 1
Administrative tablet of sheep and goats from Drehem in the 5th month of the 8th year of Amar-Suen's reign
2039 BCE
Scope and Content Note
List of sheep and goats from Drehem, Iraq dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE). The 8th year of Amar-Suen's reign dates
to 2039 BCE. The festival of Ninazu is
the 5th month of the Drehem calendar year.
Box 1
Item: 2
Administrative tablet of sheep and goats from Drehem in the 5th month of the 47th year of Shulgi's reign
2048 BCE
Scope and Content Note
List of sheep and goats from Drehem, Iraq dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE). The 47th year of Shulgi's reign dates
to 2048 BCE. The festival of Ninazu is the
5th month of the Drehem calendar year.
Box 1
Item: 3
Administrative tablet of types of grain from Umma in the 1st year of Ibbi-Suen's reign
2028 BCE
Scope and Content Note
Lists of different types of grain from Umma, Iraq dating to the reign of Ibbi-Suen (c. 2030 BCE). The first year of Ibbi-Suen's
reign dates to 2028 BCE. The month that
"the brick was placed in the brick mold" is the second month of Umma's calendar year.
Box 1
Item: 4
Administrative tablet of reed mats
ca. 2000 BCE
Scope and Content Note
A note describing a reed mat(?) of unknown provenience dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE).
Box 1
Item: 5
Adminstrative tablet of sheep and goats from Drehem in the 42nd year of Shulgi's reign
2053 BCE
Scope and Content Note
List of sheep and goats from Drehem, Iraq dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE). The 42nd year of Shulgi's reign dates
to 2053 BCE. The month of "eating the
gazelle" is the first month of Drehem's calendar year.
Box 1
Item: 6
Administrative tablet of sheep and goats from Drehem in the 4th year of Amar-Suen's reign
2042 BCE
Scope and Content Note
List of sheep and goats from Drehem, Iraq dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE). The 4th year of Amar-Suen's reign dates
to 2042 BCE. The month of An's
festival is the 10th month of Drehem's calendar year.
Box 1
Item: 7
Administrative tablet of hired workers in Umma from the Ur III period.
ca. 2050 BCE
Scope and Content Note
A list of two hired workers and oxen from Umma, Iraq dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE). Currently missing from Special
Collections holdings.
Box 1
Item: 8
Royal inscription from the reign of Lipit-Ishtar
ca. 1930 BCE
Scope and Content Note
Royal inscription of Lipit-Ishtar on a clay cone dating to the Old Babylonian period. Lipit-Ishtar was king in Mesopotamia
for ten years between 1934-1924 BCE. Lipit-
Ishtar ruled from the city of Isin and is famous for issuing a set of laws. When he published his laws, Lipit-Ishtar also
built Enisisa, the "House of Justice," and he had its construction
recorded on lots of clay cones like this one.
Note: this text = RIME 4.1.5.4 (Frayne 1990, 52-54).
For another exemplar of this inscription see:
http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/cuneiform/UM15.phtml
Box 1
Item: 9
Administrative tablet of a silver loan from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II
ca. 580 BCE
Scope and Content Note
Citing loan of silver and witnesses involved dating to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II in the Neo-Babylonian period. Nebuchadnezzar
II was king of Mesopotamia from
604-562 BCE.
