Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh by Biggs, Robert D (1934- ) - 1974

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974 xii+112 pages with 30 figures, 183 plates (many folding) and index. Quarto (11" x 9 1/4") issued in brown cloth with gilt lettering to spine and cover. Chapter on "Structural Remains" by Donald P Hansen. The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publication volume XCIX. 1st edition. In this volume are published all of the cuneiform tablets excavated at Tell Abu Salabikh in 1963 and 1965 with the exception of a very few fragments considered illegible or utterly worthless. All other tablets are represented by a copy, by a photograph, or by both. Except for the copies of especially fragile tablets made in the field, preliminary copies were prepared from casts and photographs. Subsequently they were checked against the original tablets in the Iraq Museum. In the case of a few unusually difficult tablets, the copy published here is the last of several efforts, each of which was checked against the original in Baghdad and subsequently copied anew. Except in a few instances when a tablet was unavailable (being exhibited in a museum in another part of Iraq, for example), I have personally collated all copies against the originals at least once; exceptions are explicitly mentioned in the Catalog of Published Texts. All fragments have been given separate publication numbers, even when there was no doubt about specific fragments belonging to the same tablet. Without doubt, a number of joins can still be made among the tablets. I believe this is particularly true of the group I have called UD.GAL.NUN. These tablets, published here as Nos. 112-254, are so numerous that, without preparation of transliterations and detailed textual studies, it is probable that relatively few of the fragments can be rejoined. A considerable number of joins were made in the field, where it was possible to lay out all the tablets of this genre in a large room, but I have had no opportunity to attempt joins in this fashion since that time. [From the Preface] Condition: Corners bumped else a near fine copy issued without jacket.. First Edition. Original Cloth. Near Fine. Quarto.