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Clay tablet (document claiming a debt)

Unknown-0492

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Leiden, Netherlands

The gradual advance of Aramaic as the written and spoken language of the ancient Near East can be seen on this clay tablet. Until the Neo-Assyrian period, in the middle of the first millennium BC, most people were still familiar with cuneiform script. But by the time of the Persian period (539-332 BC), many were no longer able to read it. The scribe therefore supplied the clay tablets with a brief caption in Aramaic. It is a kind of summary − in this case, however, upside-down! The cuneiform text is a document claiming a debt of 15 pieces of silver owed by one Bel-Iddina, the son of Nabu-etir-napsjati.

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  • Title: Clay tablet (document claiming a debt)
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: -0492
  • Location: Irak
  • Physical Dimensions: w4 x h1.5 x d5.5 cm
  • Datering: 492 BC, Perzische Periode
  • Afmetingen: L 5,5 cm, B 4 cm, H 1,5 cm
  • Type: clay tablet
  • External Link: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
  • Medium: clay
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

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