Sumerian Shakespeare
Tablet #36 (CDLI# 272588)
Tablet #36: Obverse (front). The flat side of a tablet is the front. It is read from left to right, and down the "page," like English. Enlarge.
Tablet #36. Obverse. Line-drawing by Marcel Sigrist. The translation of this tablet would not have been possible without Mr. Sigrist's line-drawings (I wouldn't have even attempted it). Even the most experienced Sumerologist would have difficulty translating this tablet from a photograph without being able to turn the tablet in the light so that the signs can be seen to best advantage. The crowded lettering, the compressed signs, and the worn and damaged condition of the tablet would make it almost illegible to a modern reader. The line-drawings by Marcel Sigrist (he has done thousands of them) have the beauty of art and the precision of science. Enlarge.
Tablet #36: Reverse (back). The rounded side of a tablet is the back. When the front of a tablet was filled with writing, it was flipped over bottom-to-top (and not right to left, like the page of a book) and the writing was continued down the back. This makes the writing on the back of a tablet "upside down" relative to the writing on the front. Enlarge.
Tablet #36: Reverse. by Marcel Sigrist. Ancient Sumerian looks like a difficult language,
and it's ten times more difficult than it looks. Every one of these signs have multiple meanings
and many different pronunciations. Enlarge.
The pictures and drawings are courtesy of the Library of Congress. They originally appeared on
the LoC webpage: "Cuneiform Tablets: From the Reign of Gudea of Lagash to Shalmanassar III."
Special thanks to the Library of Congress for making this collection available on-line.
For the record, my translation of Tablet #36 has been known to the professional Sumerologists since 2010, and it is absolutely irrefutable.
Now it's time to read the Translation.
