Niek Veldhuis

THE SOLUTION OF THE DREAM: A NEW INTERPRETATION OF BILGAMES' DEATH

The excavations in Tell Haddad (ancient Meturan) have added significantly to our knowledge of the Sumerian Bilgames narratives.1 The fragments of Bilgames’ Death from Tell Hada (Meturan) were recently published and edited by and Cavigneaux and Al-Rawi (2000).2 Since Kramer’s publication of some Nippur fragments (1944), little progress had been made on this composition for more than half a century. Although the Meturan version differs in many details from the Nippur fragments, Cavigneaux and Al-Rawi succeeded in establishing the correct order of all scenes and in presenting some version of the text for nearly all passages. Notwithstanding the dramatic progress in textual reconstruction, the basic story line remains largely unclear. Given our imperfect knowledge of the grammar and lexicon, the reconstruction of a Sumerian literary text is always fraught with uncertainties. In the present case, however, the fragmentary nature of some of the pivotal passages and the unusual orthography of the Meturan texts render all interpretations provisional. I hope to demonstrate that my reading is plausible from a philological point of view and produces a coherent story line. I will begin with my conclusions: the plot (§1). This new reconstruction of the narrative is justified through the discussion of some key passages in §2. Finally, the new translation (§3) is meant as a general orientation aid for the reader, and as a means to demonstrate my understanding of the narrative. The Appendix presents a previously unrecognized fragment that could be joined to the main Nippur source. In many ways this article takes the edition of Bilgames’ Death by Cavigneaux and Al-Rawi (2000) as its point of departure, or as the giant’s shoulder on which to stand. The editors have provided a solid textual basis from which every future discussion has to start. Moreover, they have collected and edited the most important texts and passages that elucidate one or another aspect of the composition. If in the following pages one encounters more criticism than praise, this does not adequately represent my appreciation of the book.

Sumerian proverbs in their curricular context

Bendt Alster has published a two-volume edition of all known Old Babylonian Sumerian proverbs. This publication provides an opportunity to look at the proverbs as a corpus and to investigate their actual use. Proverbs are mostly found on school tablets. The curriculum of the school and the position of the proverbs therein is relatively well known. Part I of this article explores some of the implications of looking at the proverbs as didactic instruments for a particular phase of scribal education. Part II includes additional fragments, joins, corrections, and suggestions.

Intellectual History and Assyriology

Abstract The present article proposes to understand knowledge and knowledge traditions of ancient Mesopotamia as assets, deployed by actors in the social contexts in which they found themselves. This approach is illustrated with three examples from different periods of Mesopotamian history.

Cuneiform tablets at the Groningen Institute for Semitics

Abstract The Department of Middle and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures of the Groningen University (formerly the Groningen Institute of Semitics) owns 23 cuneiform objects and one sealed tag. One of the brick fragments has a known provenance (GIS 21). All other objects were bought on the antiquities market by De Liagre Böhl. When Böhl moved from Groningen to Leiden he left a small part of his collection behind. In the catalogue of the Böhl collection at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of the Near East (NINO) these items are marked with ‘Groningen’. In 1997 it was decided that the collection needed preservatory measures. A few older photographs demonstrate that some of the tablets have been deteriorating. All tablets were cleaned and desalinated and some later additions in wax were removed. This resulted in increased legibility of some of the pieces. Two of the Groningen tablets have been published previously (GIS 9 and GIS 12).