Clay tablet: Did you mean...?

Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia circa 3600/3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians and the greatest among those of the...

A Babylonian cuneiform tablet with a map of the fields, towns and palaces around Nippur. Kassite Period, 1550-1450 BCE. Nippur, Iraq.

This is the 11th tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The cuneiform text on this tablet is startlingly similar to the Biblical story of Noah and his ark in the Book of Genesis. When George Smith, an assistant in the British Museum first read...

This is the upper part of the obverse side of the tablet, which was excavated by Hormuzd Rassam in the late 19th century CE. Nabu-nadin-shum (a priest) and the goddess Aa lead Nabu-aplu-iddina (a king of Babylon, reigned 888 – 855 BCE) to...

This clay document tells us how Nabonidus (the last king of Babylon) built and reconstructed the temple of Sin, the moon God, at Ur. It also mentions a prayer for the king and Beslshazzar, his son. From Ur, neo-Babylonian era, 555-539 BCE...

This is a fired clay mould for the goddess Ishtar. The goddess is depicted nude. She holds her breasts with her hands and wears a horned crown. She has a pair of wings (or a cloak) and her feet are talon-like. On the left is the modern impression...

Clay tablets with cuneiform letters found at Kültepe in central Turkey (ancient Kanesh), 1900 BCE – 1700 BCE. They were all written by merchants who, from around 1900 BCE, had come to Kanesh from the city of Ashur in Assyria and established...

A Jomon clay mask or domen. Kidukuri, Kamegaoka, Tsugaru-shi, Aomori, Japan. Jomon Period, 1000-400 BCE. Important Cultural Property. (Tokyo National Museum)

These counterparts of real mastiffs were buried to guard a property from devils and demons. Ritual instructions for making and inscribing them survive on clay tablets. This pack was found beneath a palace doorway at Nineveh. Each is named...

Maya Nobleman, Jaina, Maya culture, Late Classic Period, c. 600-900 CE. Campeche, Mexico. Fired clay with remnants of paint. Exhibited at Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland.