Venteicher Rare Book Room

Found at Babylon

This is an administrative text from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon from 605-562 B.C. This tablet, which is of about average size, bears the king's name. The inscription reads: "the 7th of Kislīmu of the 20th year of Nebuchadnezzer, King of Babylon." That was the year 585 B.C.

Found at Drehen near Nippur

This is a temple record for the receipt of barley. The date is about 2350 B.C.

Found at Jokha, the ancient Umma in central Babylonia

This is an example of a sealed temple record. After the tablet was written and while the clay was still soft, the temple priest rolled his engraved cylindrical stone seal over the tablet. The impression of the seal made it impossible to change the record. The seal impression is the raised characters and contains the name of the scribe, his father, and the statue of the seated sun god. It is dated 2350 B.C.

Found at Jokha, the ancient Umma, in central Babylonia

In perfect condition, this is a messenger tablet. It is a list of provisions supplied for the temple messenger for his journey through the country. Such tablets are rare and highly valued because the writing is among the finest yet discovered. They are always small. It is dated 2350 B.C.

Found at Warka, known in The Bible as Erech (Genesis, Chapter X, Verse 10)

This is a votive cone made by a temple priest. It was sold to a visiting pilgrim who then thrust it into the mortar between the bricks of the temple wall for the welfare of the king.  It is dated 2100 B.C.