Stele of Ushumgal explained

Stele of Ushumgal
Material:	Gypsum alabaster
Size:	22 cm high
Created:	circa 2900-2700 BCE
Discovered:	Possibly Umma 31.6214°N 45.9334°W
Location:	British Museum, London
Registration:	Metropolitan Museum of Art 58.29

The Stele of Ushumgal is an early Sumerian stone tablet, dating to the Early Dynastic I-II (circa 2900-2700 BCE), and probably originating from Umma.^[1] It is currently located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.^[2]

The stele is 22 cm high. It is partially deciphered, refers to an early transfer of land ownership. A large man is inscribed with a label, which can be read “Ušumgal, the pab-šeš priest of (the deity) Šara”. On the other side stands Shara-igizi-Abzu, the daughter of Ushumgal.^{[3] [4]}

The stele has been described as a type of "ancient Kudurru", a sort of stele known from the Kassites period in the 2nd millennium BCE.^{[5] [6]}

The name "Akka" appears in the Stele of Ushumgal, as Ak gal-ukkin, "Ak gal-ukkin official". It has been suggested this could refer to Aga of Kish himself.^{[7] [8]}

See also

• Blau Monuments
• Warka Vase

References

=Further reading

• Wilcke, Claus, "Zur Ušumgal-Stele: ELTS 12", The Third Millennium. Brill, pp. 716-729, 2020

External links

• Complete transliteration of the inscriptions

Notes and References

1. Web site: Metropolitan Museum of Art . www.metmuseum.org.
2. Balke, Thomas E.. "The Interplay of Material, Text, and Iconography in Some of the Oldest “Legal” Documents". Materiality of Writing in Early Mesopotamia, edited by Thomas E. Balke and Christina Tsouparopoulou, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016, pp. 73-94
3. Web site: Ushumgal Stele CDLI . cdli.ox.ac.uk.
4. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/729770
5. I. J. Gelb, P. Steinkeller, and R. M. Whiting Jr, "OIP 104. Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus", Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989, 1991 ISBN 978-0-91-898656-6 Text Plates
6. Book: Beaulieu . Paul-Alain . A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 . 2018 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-1-4051-8898-2 . 35 . en.
7. Book: Frayne . Douglas . The Struggle for Hegemony in "Early Dynastic II" Sumer . 65–66 . en.
8. Web site: CDLI-Found Texts . cdli.ucla.edu.