English: This is one of the largest clay tablets to survive from the Neo-Sumerian period. The 24 columns of writing on the back and front record the names of nearly 20,000 temple workers from the Umma area. It dates to the 37th year of the reign of Shulgi, a king of the 3rd Dynasty at Ur. During this period, Ur controlled much of Mesopotamia by means of a highly centralized bureaucratic system. Large schools of scribes oversaw the training of select young men in the skills of reading and writing the Sumerian language, which contained over 500 signs representing entire words (logographs) and individual syllables.
This work is free and may be used by anyone for any purpose. If you wish to use this content, you do not need to request permission as long as you follow any licensing requirements mentioned on this page.
The Wikimedia Foundation has received an e-mail confirming that the copyright holder has approved publication under the terms mentioned on this page. This correspondence has been reviewed by a Volunteer Response Team (VRT) member and stored in our permission archive. The correspondence is available to trusted volunteers as ticket #2012021710000834.
== {{int:filedesc}} == {{Walters Art Museum artwork |artist = Sumerian |title = ''Record of Temple Workers'' |description = {{en|This is one of the largest clay tablets to survive from the Neo-Sumerian period. The 24 columns ...