The cuneiform sign for tur is used to denote one syllabic usage, tur, or the sign's Sumerograms; it is used in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the 14th century BC Amarna letters. The sign is based on the i (cuneiform) sign, with the one small added vertical stroke.
Besides tur, it is for Sumerograms (logograms) BÀN, DUMU, and TUR. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is used in the following numbers: tur-(11 times), BÀN-(3), DUMU-(25), TUR-(2).[1] The large usage of DUMU in the Epic is for the Sumerogram being the equivalent of "son", Akkadian language "māru".[2]
In the Amarna letters, the topic of Amarna letter EA 296, Under the Yoke, is the guarding of two cities, at the city gate; also the man authoring the letter, Yabitiri-(Yahtiru)-(governor?) of City? gives his history of going to Egypt to be trained with the Pharaoh, EA 296, line 25 (tablet reverse): "... (25) "i-nu-ma TUR a-na-ku", (26) he (Yanhamu) took me to (Egypt) Misri (27)..., (25) "Now when "YOUNG"-(I, myself), (26) he (i.e. Yanhamu) took me to Egypt, (27) ..."[3]
The most common text usage is unlike the digital version. It is composed of 5-horizontals: one (single) above two pairs of two, and all sitting on a large single horizontal stroke, approximated as follows:
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It is found in various Amarna letters as part of "Messenger-Xxxxx", for example "LÚ.PA.TUR-Uv-wx-yz"
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