Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2024:2
<https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlb/2024-2>
© Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
ISSN 1540-8760
Version: 18 June 2024
The Groton School Cuneiform-Text Collection
Andrew Pottorf
University of Cambridge
Andrew A. N. Deloucas
Harvard University
Abstract: This article features the Groton School cuneiform-text collection, including a discussion on its
provenance as well as photographs, transliterations, translations, notes, and commentaries on the three
texts in the collection. Two of the texts are from the Ur III period (ca. 2110–2003 B.C.E.), whereas one is from
the Late Babylonian period (ca. 5th century B.C.E. through 1st century C.E.). The Ur III texts are an expense
report from Puzriš-Dag¯ an and a sealed receipt from an unknown provenience. Their commentaries focus
on key terminology such as the term šu-gid
2
in the former and the phrase apin-la
2
-ta ba-a in the latter. The
Late Babylonian text is a loan document from Sippar concerning silver for a house sale. It is utilized for a
detailed reconstruction of the provenance of the Maštuk archive, first postulated by Caroline Waerzeggers
(2002). The commentaries for all three texts also highlight prosopographical observations, especially for the
Late Babylonian text.
Keywords: Ur III period, Late Babylonian period, Maštuk archive, administrative texts, house sales, loans
§0. Acknowledgements
§0.1. We would like to extend our gratitude to the
many individuals and institutions that have made
this work possible. We are thankful to Andy Reyes,
John Tyler, and Groton School (Groton, MA) for
granting us permission to publish their cuneiform-
text collection and for their aid in its access and
study. We are grateful to Peter Der Manuelian, Kris-
ten Vagliardo, Adam Aja, and Katherine McGaughey,
who have generously allowed us use of the Harvard
Museum of the Ancient Near East for the conserva-
tion, photography, storage, and study of these texts.
For their thoughtful input on our work, we are in-
debted to Eric Aupperle, Heather Baker, Gojko Bar-
jamovic, Erica Ciallela, Laura Fox, Agnete Lassen,
Manuel Molina, Clemens Reichel, Nadia Ait Said-
Ghanem, Curtis Small Jr., Piotr Steinkeller, Caroline
Waerzeggers, Klaus Wagensonner, and Taha Yurt-
ta¸ s. Letters and related documents from (1) Gro-
ton School, (2) the Morgan Library & Museum, and
(3) the Yale Babylonian Collection (YBC) have been
made available to us by (1) Reyes, (2) Ciallela, (3)
Lassen, and Said-Ghanem. Any mistakes or short-
comings are our own.
§1. Introduction
§1.1. The Provenance of the Groton School
Cuneiform-Text Collection
§1.1.1. The Groton School cuneiform-text collection
consists of three texts that have been designated as
Nos. 1, 2, and 3. They are referred to here as Gro-
ton School Cuneiform Text(s) (GSCT) 1 (P547617),
2(P547618), and 3 (P547619). GSCT 1 and 2 are
dated to the Ur III period (ca. 2110–2003 B.C.E.) and
GSCT 3 is dated to the Late Babylonian period (ca.
5th century B.C.E. through 1st century C.E.).
1
On 23
November 1932, J. P. Morgan Jr. wrote to G. Arthur
Jorgensen, the first press master of Groton School,
about an indefinite loan of three cuneiform texts.
On 7 December 1932, Junius S. Morgan, Morgan Jr.’s
1
Dates during the Ur III period are according to Sallaberger and Schrakamp 2015, but they remain tentative. Dates
during the Neo- and Late Babylonian periods are according to Waerzeggers 2014. Factoring in the months of
text dates makes their annual dates also approximate. Abbreviations are according to CDLI (https://cdli.mpiwg-
berlin.mpg.de/abbreviations). When a text is first mentioned, its CDLI number is provided.
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