A royal clay cone inscription of Ur-Nammu (E3/2.1.1.11; P226926; Ashm 1935-0774)
Introduction
The post presents my translation of a royal clay cone inscription of Ur-Nammu wherein he documents his achievement of the construction of Nanna’s E-temen-ni-guru temple. Ur-Nammu was the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur in ca. 2112 BCE. Derived from Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), the clay cone is currently part of the Ashmolean Museum collection of Oxford (museum number: Ashm 1935-0774).
In what follows, we present the cone inscription’s line drawing followed by a transliteration of the cuneiform, a morphological analysis, translation, and brief philological commentary.
Line Drawing
Transliteration
Morphological Analysis
nanna amar bànda an.ak dumu sag̃ enlíl.ak lugal.ani(.ra) ur-nammu nita kala(g).a lugal uri(m).ak.e é-temen-ní-gùru.ani(.∅) mu.na.(n.)dù(.∅)
Translation
Commentary
- amar bànda an.ak ‘the fierce (or wild) calf of An’
- New vocabulary: bànda = ‘(to be) wild, fierce’ (Akk. ekdu)
- uri5ki-ma-ke4 > /uri(m).ak.e/
- Note that the GN uri possesses an /m/ auslaut: analyzed as uri(m) ‘Ur’
- The main verb of the sentence, namely /mu.na.(n.)dù(.∅)/, is ḫamṭu transitive 3rd sg. animate comprised of a conjugation prefix /mu/, 3rd sg. dative verbal prefix /na/, and verbal base /dù/ ‘to build, construct’. Additionally, it is marked in the morphological analysis with an implied 3rd sg. anim. pronominal prefix /n./ as well as implied zero-marked 3rd sg. obj. suffix.
Bibliography
Frayne, Douglas R. Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC). The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Early Periods 3/2. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1997.
About The Author
Gilgameš and Agga (Lines 1-17) 
Law Code of Lipit-Ištar (Laws 8-18; CBS8284) 
Gudea Cylinder A xviii 1-28 (E3/1.1.7.CylA) 
Gudea Cylinder A iii 1-29 (E3/1.1.7.CylA) 
Gudea Cylinder A ii 1-29 (E3/1.1.7.CylA) 
Gudea Cylinder A i 1-29 (RIME E3/1.1.7.CylA)