MÁ explained

The cuneiform sign MÁ denotes a ship or boat. It is used in Sumerian and as a Sumerogram for the Akkadian word eleppu (also 'ship'/'boat').^[1] MÁ is usually preceded by the determinative for items made of wood, namely GIŠ: GIŠ.MÁ, or ^GIŠ.MÁ, .

Examples

The Epic of Gilgamesh lists sixteen wood-related words written with the GIŠ determinative, among them GIŠ.MÁ/eleppu.^[2] The epic also uses the 'ship'/'boat' Sumerogram in Tablet XI (the Gilgamesh flood myth), and elsewhere when Gilgamesh is taken by boat.

Some of the Amarna letters using the Sumerogram are EA 86, EA 153,^[3] EA 149, EA 245,^[4] and EA 364.^[5]

See also

• Amarna letter EA 86
• Amarna letter EA 153
• Amarna letter EA 245

Bibliography

• Book: Simo Parpola. The standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh : cuneiform text, transliteration, glossary, indices and sign list. Kalle Fabritius. 1997. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project (Contributor). 951-45-7760-4. Simo Parpola. Simo Parpola. Helsinki. Simo Parpola. 38502035. Simo Parpola. Mikko Luukko. Kalle Fabritius. Simo Parpola. (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English

External links

• Amarna letter EA 153-(Obverse), line 10 (7th line from bottom) http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/eg/web-large/vs24.2.12yy.jpg
• Amarna letter EA 245-(Reverse), line 4(=line 28) (4th line from top-of-reverse) https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=408149001&objectid=327263

Notes and References

1. Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, eleppu, p. 124.
2. Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary and Indices, Logograms and Their Readings, pp. 117-18, p. 117.
3. http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/eg/web-large/vs24.2.12yy.jpg Image
4. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=408149001&objectid=327263 Image
5. [:File:Ayyab letter mp3h8880.jpg|Image]