Cuneiform collection
![[Shu-Sin cuneiform tablet]](https://library.sydney.edu.au/browse/special-collections/cuneiform-collection/_jcr_content/root/container/container/image.coreimg.jpeg/1762488386894/cuneiform-tablet.jpeg)
The oldest items in Rare Books and Special Collections are Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions.
The cuneiform tablet (2036 BC) is from the reign of Shu-Sin, King of Ur. It's inscribed with seven lines of Sumerian cuneiform and deals with the exchange of two sheep by an official named Urmes to the scribe named Dugg'a.
I addition to the owner’s name, this seal was engraved with a scene showing the standing figure of Dugg'a being presented by a goddess to a seated deity.
The cylindrical cuneiform cone (2350 BC) is a Sumerian calendar inscribed to record the building of the temple E-Ninnû, shrine of the patron god Ningirsu.
Inscription translation: “[To the god] Ningirsu, the Mighty Warrior, Lord of the Exalted Temple, Gudea, Prince Pontiff [of] Shirpula [i.e. Lagash], its foundation he built. The Temple of E-Ninnû to Ningirsu he dedicated and built.”
Call number - cuneiform cone: Add.Ms. 328a
Call number - cuneiform tablet: Add.Ms. 328
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