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Persian 3 Goat Cup
A replica of a drinking cup with a base of 3 reclined goats.
Drinking cups with bases of animals were in common use amongst the social elite not only in Persia
but across the Near East. This cup made of resin has 3 reclined, horned goats as the vase.
145mm tall x 100mm wide.
$79.95AUD plus P&H
Hammurabi Stele - The Law code of ancient Babylon
This is a replica of the top section of the famous stele of Hammurabi who introduced one of the most comprehensive early law codes in history.
1755 -1750BC. He was king of Babylon and introduced a series of law codes, some of which we will be most familiar with as "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
The original was found at Susa it being over 2.25m tall.
190mm tall
$99.95AUD plus P&H
Pythagoras Tablet
Old Babylonian Tablet 19-17th century BC depicting the square root of two.
$39.95AUD plus P&H Quote PYTHTABSML1
Babylonian Pyramid Plan Tablet - Mathematics
7th Century BC
Akkadian cuneiform tablet excavated from ancient Babylon by Hormuzd Rassam in 1880 depicting drawing & measurements for the construction of the six lower sections of a Ziggurat pyramid.
Babylonian multiplication tables express both fractions as well a spherical mathematics and shows that the science of developing such large structures was the result of a complex understanding of mathematical principles.
Comes with full description and translation.
See VIDEO below.
50 x 40 x 25mm
$54.95AUD plus P&H Quote PYRAMIDTAB1
Last one left.
Gilgamesh Tablet
A reproduction of the Gilgamesh Tablet from the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.
2100BC the famous Epic poem of Mesopotamia with some parallels to the Biblical flood story.
Written in Akkadian with cuneiform text on both sides.
$89.95AUD plus P&H
Cuneiform Tablet with Seal Impression from Ugarit
A cuneiform tablet dated 1325-1250BC written in Akkadian cuneiform with an impression of a cylinder seal belonging to Niqmepa, King of Ugarit (Ras Shamra - present day Syria). The tablet is a land grant and has text on the front and back of the tablet. (60 x 65 x 20mm). This set comes with both the clay tablet and seal reproduction plus a translation of the text.
$54.95AUD plus P&H
SEE OUR SEALS PAGE FOR A GREAT SELECTION OF REPRODUCTION SEALS AND SEAL IMPRESSIONS.
Gudea of Legash Foundation Cone.
Cuneiform Cone or nails were used in ancient Mesopotamia around 2000 BC as a dedicatory text when a monarch built or rebuilt a major building and dedicated it to the city deity. This nail has a clear inscription written by the scribe of Gudea, who ruled ancient Legash one of the biggest cities in the known world at the time. Every character of the cuneiform script can be read and this item comes with a translation sheet that you can use to work your way through translating the text. A great exercise in ancient textual analysis! 130mm tall.
$39.95AUD plus P&H QUOTE GUDEACONE1
Agatha Christie Envelope with Seal Impressions.
650BC
Unopened Cuneiform Tablet Envelope with 2 Seal Impressions.
Excavated by Archaeologist Max Mallowan and his wife Agatha Christie at Nimrud (Assyria).
This is a cuneiform tablet the original sealed inside and covered with a second layer of clay, then the agreement for a loan of silver is rewritten on the outer "envelope" and sealed on the reverse with 2 stamp seal impressions. It was then witnessed by six witnesses. Dated 28 Nisan 650BC. In the event of a disagreement as to the loan, the outer envelope would be broken off and the inner text checked against the outer to make sure it hadn't been tampered with.
$39.95AUD plus P&H
Ugaritic Abecedary (Alphabet) Tablet
This is a small clay tablet found in Ugarit (Modern Ras Shamra - Syria) with an early cuneiform alphabet called an abecedary or Abjad. This alphabet contains 30 characters and was used to write Ugaritic which is a North West Semitic language.
$29.95AUD plus P&H
93 x 25 x 7mm one sided.
Israel Land Tablet
An URIII Period 2200 - 2000BC tablet written in Akkadian Text but using Sumerian as a language.
Excavated in northern Israel this tablet it is either an inventory or a commercial transaction concerning fields identified in part by which canal (Irrigation Channel) they were next to. The text mentions land measurements and specific canals.
A BUR was a measure of a large land estate (1 BUR = 64,800 square meters).
One ESHE/EBEL is 6 IKU or 1/3 of a BUR (About 21,800 square meters or 18 hectares = 5 acres)
Translation:
1 --------
2 ---next to the Kasi Canal
3 ---next to the Wedutum canal
4 ---next to the Wedetem canal
5 ---
Breaks
1 ---1'---
2 ---
3 2 (Eshe area units) ---20---
4 2 (Eshe area units) ---20---
5 (Indented)---
6 1 (BUR area unit) 2 (EBEL area units)---
7 (Indented)
8 2 (ESHE area units) ----20--- breaks.
This tablet was part of a larger cuneiform tablet.
Suitable for discussion on land measurements and mathematics.
Original in our collection. 50 x 42 x 20mm.
$34.95AUD plus P&H
Old Babylonian School Tablet
This lenticular clay tablet was used to help scribes learn to write the Sumerian and Akkadian languages using the triangle-like cuneiform (literally, "wedge-shaped") script. To learn a word or sign, the teacher would write the form on the obverse, and the student would then repeat the exercise on the reverse. Such elementary exercises were often completed on tablets that were small and round, easily fitting into the palm of a hand.
On this tablet, the name of the deity Urash was copied three times. Two signs were used to write this name: the first star-like sign on the left is a sign that was used to indicate the name of a divine being. The second sign could be used to write the syllable ib or ip; here it stands for Urash, the name of a deity. Cuneiform signs were used to render both words and sounds, and a single sign could signify multiple words and/or sounds. The study of cuneiform writing, therefore, required the mastery of several hundred signs and their different meanings.
Circa 2000 BC
$49.95AUD plus P&H
Babylonian School Tablet (UNFINISHED) = c1900-1700 BC
An example of an Old Babylonian round terracotta tablet with one line of cuneiform script. A school tablet would require the student to copy the text on the next line. In this case it was never done. The first line is written by the teacher.
Such tablets were used in the scribal school as exercise tablets and were copied by the scribes.
Circa 1900-1700 BC.
$49.95AUD plus P&H
Akkadian Beer Tablet - Key Ring
This tablet is a receipt, written in the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia, for the delivery of a large order of beer and beer related products. It was written during the Kassite period, the mid 13th century BC and was excavated at the site of Nippur (Iraq) at the turn of the last century.
The front reads about quantities while the reverse gives the date and the name of the scribe.
$29.95AUD plus P&H
Cuneiform Dictionary from the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.
The words are arranged in three sets of double columns. The left hand column of each set contains a rare Assyrian or foreign loan word for furnishings. For example, the word "door" appears in the centre. The right hand column of each set contains the equivalent Assyrian word in common use. The left hand column ends with the colophon of the royal library of Nineveh. The original, found in the library of Nineveh, dates from the 7th century BC. 220 x 140 x 35mm.
$89.95AUD plus P&H
Sumerian Slave Tablet
Sumerian tablet from the period of King Shurrupak 2550BC describing the gift of a house and land (one and a half "SAR" approx 54 square meters) which includes a male slave. Early Cuneiform text with text groupings (words) in boxes. This technique developed from the very early pictographic text and soon after this period was changed in favor of text written in horizontal lines.
$49.95AUD plus P&H
Last one left.
UR III Tablet
$34.95AUD plus P&H
UR III Tablet on base.
The small cuneiform tablet as above but mounted on a display base.
50 x 40 x 20mm. Damaged area on back.
$39.95AUD plus P&H
Proto Elamite Tablet
A reproduction of a Proto-Elamite accounting tablet. The text reads right to left and is dated to 2900BC from the region of Elam (Southern present day Iraq). Proto Elamite is quite different to the cuneiform script used elsewhere in Mesopotamia at the time and was more linear with strokes, lines and circles. All existing examples appear to be accounting records as they contain what appears to logographic sign groups followed immediately by numbers. Proto Elamite has not yet been deciphered as there is not yet a large enough corpus of samples to develop the information required.
$39.95AUD plus P&H Quote PROTOELAMITE1
Early Clay Tokens and Bulla Set
This is a reproduction of a set of early clay tokens and their bulla.
Small tokens were modelled from clay, each shape representing a different trading commodity. For example a cone usually represented a measure of grain.
When a trade agreement had been made, the supplier would make a series of tokens that represented the commodities that were agreed on in the deal.
He would then made a hollow clay ball into which he would insert the tokens and then close it over to seal it shut. He would then make impressions on the outside of the clay "Bulla" to represent what was inside and would also impress his seal on the bulla as well to authorise and "seal" the deal.
The products would be sent to the buyer. On receiving the shipment the buyer would count his received items and then break open the clay bulla and check that the items he received matched the agreed number represented by the tokens inside the bulla. If the numbers did not match he would contest the deal.
What today we might compare to a shipping receipt.
These clay tokens and bullae were in use long before writing and would eventually lead to the use of the early pictographic clay tablet and eventually the use of Cuneiform throughout Mesopotamia.
This set is hand made and will vary slightly in colour and shape/size. It comes with a set of 7 tokens and an open bulla. The bulla has the token impressions on one side and a seal impression on the other. A great set to demonstrate how writing evolved from the use of tokens.
$69.95AUD plus P&H
Early Counting Tokens
These are reproductions of small clay counters or tokens used in the Near East in particular Mesopotamia from about 9,000 B.C. to 1500 B.C. Archaeologists have found over 500 distinct types, although not in all times and places. Tokens start to be found at widely separated sites as of 8,000 B.C. (C-14), such as Level III of Tell Mureybet in Syria and Level E of Ganj Dareh in western Iran. Tokens were used at sites throughout the Near East, from Israel to Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, with the exception of Central Anatolia. The farthest extent of their use was from Khartoum in the Sudan to the pre-Harappan site of Mehrgahr in Pakistan. Each token was thought to have represented a particular commodity, some thought that the shape had some means of identification of the object represented.
These represent a precursor to the development of written text as they were used parallel to the early Sumerian pictographic writing systems as they developed and eventually disappeared. Other types were small shaped clay tokens that were sealed inside a clay ball which then had the token images impressed on the outside of the clay ball (bulla) as a means of creating a security system prior to the use of seals. This sealing of information within another clay object would go on to form the process of the clay envelopes used later. See 2 replicas of these clay envelopes below.
A set of 12 tokens for sale.
This set is available for schools with a Research and activity sheet.
$49.95AUD plus P&H
Early Sumerian Ration Tablet
This is a clay tablet from Uruk dated to 3100 - 3000BC at the dawn of writing. Early texts from this period were pictographic being written in the soft clay with the sharp tip of a reed stylus. The rounded opposite end was also used but for writing numbers. The impressed circles and crescent shapes are those numbers.
In this tablet the character that looks a little like an amphora without handles is the sigh for "Beer". The character with the head and a bowl is the character for "Ration" which was also later used to represent "to eat".
This tablet is available for schools with a research and activity sheet that can be copied and used in the classroom.
$84.95AUD plus P&H SPECIAL $69.95
Early Sumerian Pictographic Tablet
This is another early pictographic tablet of Sumerian origin. Again pictographic images represent word signs.
$64.95AUD plus P&H
Nebuchadnezzar II Inscription
A reproduction of a small disc engraved in stone with the image of the bust of Nebuchadnezzar II surrounded by a cuneiform inscription.
The inscription hails Nebuchadnezzar as King of Babylon.
$29.95AUD plus P&H
Cambyses was ruler when a man named Gaumata took the throne by pretending to be Cambyses’ brother, Bardiya, who had been secretly assassinated in 525 B.C. Cambyses set out to reclaim the throne for himself, but he was killed while traveling from Egypt to Persia “as the result of either an accident or suicide, leaving no heir.”
Darius, meanwhile, wanted to claim the throne for himself. He killed the usurper Gaumata (or “false Bardiya”) in 522 B.C. and assumed the role of king. “Some modern scholars consider that he invented the story of Gaumata in order to justify his actions and that the murdered king was indeed the son of Cyrus,” wrote Middle East historian J.M. Munn-Rankin.
Darius 1st Plaque Partial.
A smaller partial relief of Darius from Persepolis.
$39.95AUD plus P&H
