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Paleo-Babylonian text in Sumerian language

Sumerian Flood of Nippur

Ziusudra and the Sumerian account of the flood

This Sumerian account of the flood features Ziusudra, not the survivor of the epic of Gilgamesh.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · Penn Museum, Philadelphia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Documentary original · Exact correspondence

Photograph of the preserved original: Tablet of the Sumerian account of the flood.

Onceinawhile; clipping uploaded by Zunkir · Penn Museum, Philadelphia · Inventory: CBS10673; antiguo B10673; se une con CBS10867; CDLI P265876 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗
Photograph of the preserved original: Tablet of the Sumerian account of the flood.
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · Penn Museum, Philadelphia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Documentary original · Exact correspondence

Photograph of the preserved original: Tablet of the Sumerian account of the flood.

Onceinawhile; clipping uploaded by Zunkir · Penn Museum, Philadelphia · Inventory: CBS10673; antiguo B10673; se une con CBS10867; CDLI P265876 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

The preserved part brings together human creation, first cities and the survival of Ziusudra in the face of a flood sent by the gods. We do not have the entire text: the fragment belonged to a tablet with six columns, three on each side.

This piece is not Tablet XI of Gilgamesh from London. Comparing them allows us to follow related stories without confusing their protagonists, their languages ​​or the dates of their copies. The tradition could continue and transform through many scribes.

Evidence and interpretation

Fragmentary literary testimony, not proof of a global flood. Similarities between stories do not by themselves demonstrate a direct transmission between two specific copies.

Catalogue facts

Date of piece
Towards 1650 BCE
Culture and period
Paleo-Babylonian text in Sumerian language
Provenance
Nippur, Iraq
Material
fired clay
Inventory
CBS10673 / B10673 · union with CBS10867

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

Clay32 dated objects

23 / 32In the centre: Sumerian Flood of Nippur

Also connected, without a comparable date (8)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

Measure what is missing in a story

The lower third of the tablet is preserved. Each column maintains between ten and fifteen lines; The catalog estimates that the complete document could have been around two hundred and sixty. That figure is a reconstruction, not a count of signs present. Furthermore, CBS10673 matches another fragment, CBS10867. Identifying a union allows you to recover words and check the layout of the writing: reading ancient literature also requires studying edges, surfaces and proportions, not just translating isolated phrases.

Where it is held

Penn Museum, Philadelphia

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Institution that preserves the piece; Check with the museum about its availability to visit.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Consult the part documentation

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