History of Text Technologies

The Cuneiform Tablets Collection consists of twenty-five clay tablets with Sumerian text in cuneiform script. The contents of the tablets are primarily related to agriculture and commerce; they are essentially temple records and business documents dating from over 4000 years ago. They were written during the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Old Babylonian period, the reign of Sîn-kasid, and the Neo-Babylonian period. Known geographical sources include Umma, Puzris-Dagan, Girsu, and Uruk. The tablets range in size from one to two square inches, and are square, rounded and cone shaped.

The Greek and Latin Ostraka collection consists of thirty-two clay pottery fragments with text in Greek and Latin documenting the activities of a Roman Army unit stationed near Edfu, Egypt circa 150 CE. Ostraka (singular ostracon) are potsherds that have writing scratched or written on them.

The Babylonian Cylinder Seal Impression shows the entire image of a Babylonian cylinder seal (the seal is linked in the "stone" section). Impressions like this would serve as a sort of lock or insurance, since if the vessel they were sealing was ever opened, the clay would break, leaving visual proof of interference.

The Babylonian Clay Tablet is a singular cuneiform tablet written in Akkadian. Although a translation is not available, it is likely this tablet contains an administrative record of some kind, as that is the information usually recorded on early clay tablets.