Appointment of officials and establishing the temple’s contribution for a royal building project.

The tablet records the appointment of an overseer of temple-serfs (rab širki), A1, and a summoner (dēkû), A2, for a royal building project (known to be the north palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon), and establishes the materials, funds, and manpower that the Eanna temple undertakes for this project.

The text opens with the names of B1–16, the centurions (rab meˀati) and decurions (rab ešerti), all are temple-serfs of the Lady-of-Uruk (širku), old and young, who are approaching three temple’s high officials: the royal resident (qīpu) C1, the temple administrator (šatammu) C2, and the scribe of Eanna C3.

The temple-serfs (B1–16) say that there is no overseer of temple-serfs for overseeing their work (in Babylon) and the temple-serfs have had enough (ṣēru malû). They demand that the temple appoint A1 as overseer for the royal project (dullu ša šarri) over them.

The royal resident, temple administrator, temple scribe, and the temple-serfs of Eanna, deliberate together and appoint A1 as overseer of temple-serfs, and A2 as a summoner (dēkû).

They further establish the following with respect to the work:

5 mina of silver to replace the interruption (baṭlu), escapes (halqu), or idelness (rīqu); 6 mina of silver for harvest time(?) (ebūru) for 180 workers; 4 mina of silver for firewood (huṣābu); 22 boats per year and/for 30000 bitumen, a year’s supply, including the bitumen for waterproofing the boats; 1300 kor of barley as “wages of the steppe” (kurummatu ša ṣēri, partly uncl.) for 180 workers and 16 guards (tašlīšu) of the royal resident;  A1 will provide (no verb, or broken) 1 smith (nappāhu), 2 master-builders (arad ekalli), and 4 carpenters (nagāru) of boats; in addition(?) to 2 workers, 3 guards for the storehouse (bīt makkūri) in [GN], and 5 men who will act as proxy for (ina našparti) A1. Annually 10 […] for transportation losses (hizzatu), 1300 kor of barley as “city wages” (kurummatu ša āli)*, for the … ropes. For each man: 5 mina wool, 3;2.0.0 kor of cress.

The rest is a bit fragmentary, mentioned are 20 young kids (enzu ṣehru), dates, nēsepu- containers, oil for […] of the 28th of Kislīm (IX), replacements (halpu), sheep […], A2 […], monthly, 4 kor of barley, their salaries (kurummatu).

A1 [guarantees for]? the boats and the performance of the work for 10+ days. He will not make deductions (ekēmu) for escaped and idle temple-serfs. A2 guarantees (pūtu našû) for the levy of the [workers] of Eanna.

Names of 7 witnesses and the scribe.

* “City wages” (kurummat ša āli) refers to the 1 day off for every 10 days of work that workers received as a “city break”.

A1= Nabû-bān-ahi/Ahu-lūmur, overseer of temple-serfs (rab širki); A2= Nanāya-uṣalli/Ṭāb-Uruk, summoner (dēkû); B1= Nabû-ahu-iddin/Nanāya-iddin; B2= Nergal-nāṣir/[…]; B3= […]/Amīl-Nanāya; B4= Silim-Bēl/Rēhētu; B5= Iddin-[…]/Amīl-Nanāya; B6= Ibni-Ištar/iqīša; B7= Nanāya-ēreš/[…]; B8= Ina-ṣilli-Nanāya/Ša-Nabû-šū; B9= Nabû-ušabši/[…]; B10= Nabû-ṣābit-qātīa/Yatapi; B11= Arad-Innin/Ezu-[…]; B12= Silim-Bēl/Bēl-ahhē-erība; B13= Nabû-mudammiq/Šamaš-zēru-[…]; B14= Nanāya-ahu-iddin/Marduk-zēru-ibni; B15= Zēria/Nergal-ahu-[…]; B16= Nergal-ušēzib, royal official (ša šarri); C1= Ninurta-šarru-uṣur, royal resident (qīpu); C2= Marduk-bēlšunu/Marduk-šāpik-zēri, temple administrator (šatammu); C3= Nabû-ahhē-bulliṭ/Ša-Nabû-šū, scribe of Eanna