The Weld-Blundell Prism ("WB", dated 1800 BCE) is a

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

inscribed vertical

prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

housed in the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The prism was found in a 1922 expedition in

Larsa Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...

in modern-day

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

by British archaeologist

Herbert Weld Blundell Herbert Joseph Weld Blundell (1852 – 5 February 1935) was an English traveller in Africa, archaeologist, philanthropist and yachtsman. He shortened his surname from Weld Blundell to Weld, in 1924. Life to 1922 He was educated at Stonyhurst C ...

. The four sides, about 20 cm high and 9 cm wide, are inscribed in the

Sumerian language Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 3000 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day ...

with lists of

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ian

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

s; each side contains the text in two columns: this is the famous

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...

. It is considered as the most complete of the Sumerian King Lists which have been found, of which there are approximately 25 more or less complete fragments as of 2016. The list begins with the antediluvian rulers and ends with Sin-magir of the

Isin dynasty The Dynasty of Isin refers to the final ruling dynasty listed on the ''Sumerian King List'' (''SKL''). The list of the Kings Isin with the length of their reigns, also appears on a cuneiform document listing the kings of Ur and Isin, the ''List of ...

(r. 1827–1817). The list was most likely written in Sin-magir's final year, or soon after. Many, especially antediluvian, kings are credited with incredibly long reigns (counted in sars and nerah), as a result of which many scholars consider this work to be more artistic than historical. Various theories are being constructed in an attempt to explain such large numbers. They are supposed to express the great importance of rulers who were considered demigods. According to another version, sar (3600 years) and ner (600 years), the units of time measurement in the Sumerian number system, should be taken as years and months, respectively. This text of the

Old Babylonian Old Babylonian may refer to: *the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC) *the historical stage of the Akkadian language Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Camb ...

period (

, c.1827–1817 BCE) is inscribed in traditional

Sumerian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

. File:Sumerian King List, 1800 BC, Larsa, Iraq.jpg, The Weld-Blundell Prism in the

. File:Initial paragraph about rule of Alulim in Eridu for 28800 years (photograph, transcription and translation).jpg, Weld-Blundell Prism, initial paragraph about rule of

Alulim , successor =Alalngar , native_lang1 = Sumerian , native_lang1_name1= } Alulim; transliterated: ; ; grc-gre, Ἄλωρος, ''Alōros''; ar, الوروس, (; ; ; ) is the first king whose name appears on numerous versions of the Sumerian ...

and

Alalngar Alalngar (also written as: Alalĝar, Alalgar, or Alaljar)( Sumerian:) was the second ensí of Eridu, according to the Sumerian King List. He was also the second king of Sumer. Also according to the Sumerian King List: Alalngar was preceded by Alu ...

Eridu Eridu ( Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotam ...

for 64.800 years

References

External links

Information on the Ashmolean Museum's website
* * *{{cite web , title=CDLI-Archival View , url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P384786 , website=cdli.ucla.edu Ancient Near and Middle East clay objects 19th-century BC inscriptions 1922 archaeological discoveries Isin-Larsa period Cuneiform

See also

References

External links