In the late 1990's, Stephen Osman of Minneapolis, Minnesota, purchased a small cuneiform tablet at a local estate sale. The purchase price was five dollars. Through a generous and informative correspondence with the owner, I am able to offer below the text from Ur III Umma in line art copy, transliteration and translation. It dates to the 6th month of Amar-Suen 4 (thus late fall, ca. 2040 BC), and measures 37 x 37 x 16mm.
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Osman 1 | Translation | |
| obv. | 2(barig) še-ba ⌜lugal⌝ | 2(barig, ca. 120 liters) of ration barley (according to the) royal (measure) |
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| ⌜nin⌝?-ur2-⌜ra-ni⌝ | for Nin-urani | ||
| ki na-ba-sa2-ta | from Nabasa, | ||
| kišib a-da-ga | sealed document of Adaga. | ||
| iti šu-numun | Month: “Sowing” (6th month, Umma calendar). | ||
| rev. | ⌜mu en dnanna maš-e i3-pa3⌝ | Year: “The en-priestess of Nanna was chosen through extispicy” (Amar-Suen 4). |
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| (seal impression) | |||
| seal | ur-dli9-si4 | Ur-Lisi, | |
| ensi2 | ensi | ||
| ummaki | of Umma: | ||
| a-da-ga | Adaga, | ||
| dub-sar | the scribe, | ||
| ARAD2-zu | is your servant. |