Artifact overview
B10673 is an artifact (Clay Tablet) related to the mythological story named 'Epic of ZiusudraEridu Genesis.' The artifact's condition is Poor and it is currently located at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, United States of America, catalogued as record number B10673. The language of the text contained is Sumerian (Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform writing system). Its estimated date is 1699—1600 BCE, which is a range based on available data and scholarship. The mythology associated with this artifact includes the Sumerian belief system and related deities: An, Enki, Enlil, Inanna, Utu, and Ziusudra.
About this artifact
Basic details
| Type | Tablet Clay material |
| Condition | Poor |
| Date created | 1699—1600 BCE |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Writing system | Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform (script) |
| Location | Penn Museum University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology · Philadelphia, United States of America |
| Object No. | B10673 |
| Digital access | Object No. B10673 Fully digitized |
Provenience
| Discovery | Nippur, Babylonia Present-day Nuffar, Iraq |
| UNESCO Site | World Heritage Site No. 278 Designated since 2019 |
Museum record data
Penn Museum
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology · Philadelphia, United States of America
Item specifications
| Museum No. | B10673 |
Mythological contents
Sumerian Religion
The contents of this artifact may depict or reference the following myths and deities associated with this belief system.
Associated myths and deities
| Myths | Epic of Ziusudra, Eridu Genesis |
| Deities | An, Enki, Enlil, Inanna, Utu, Ziusudra |
Extended artifact data for B10673
See detailed information about this artifact from the entity that has access to it.
Location description
- Penn Museum Philadelphia, United States of America
Full address: Penn Museum, 3260 South St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States of America
Open to all, the Museum is home to remarkable objects and powerful stories that emerge from its excavations and research across the world. Connect with the cultures of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Mediterranean, from the very first cities of the Middle East to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt; from early Mexico to the lives of Native American communities today. Experience the richness of the ancient past, gain an understanding of our shared humanity, and find your own place in the arc of human history.
Archaeology and Anthropology
The Penn Museum is the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Archaeology is the study of objects made by humans. From the first traces of our earliest human ancestors to 21st...
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Record numbers
| Object No. | B10673 |
| Digitized record | Object No. B10673 |
| Artifact access | On display |
Full artifact data
| Iconography | Eridu, Flood, Enki |
Record notes
About these data
| Retrieval date | Jun. 22, 2020 |
| Copyright | Penn Museum |
Render
See a rendering of the artifact in images, text, and other form factors. Where available, a translation is included.
Digital scan
OMNIKA Reader
Good news. This original artifact is digitized and available in the OMNIKA Library.
Text: "ETCSL 1.7.4: The Flood Story"
Sumerian ⟶ English a
| Line # | Translation |
|---|---|
| Source a Black et al., "ETCSL 1.7.4: The Flood Story." More info launch | |
All texts
| Title |
|
|---|---|
| "Eridu Genesis": English Translation by Thorkild Jacobsen |
|
| ETCSL 1.7.4: The Flood Story |
|
Mythological contents
This artifact contains mythological contents associated with Sumerian Religion. The main narrative mentioned may be Epic of ZiusudraEridu Genesis, a Creation, Flood myth. The deities depicted or mentioned in the artifact may be: An. Enki. Enlil. Inanna. Utu. Ziusudra.
Parent belief system
- Sumerian Religion · PolytheisticHeads up. This Religion belongs to the Mesopotamian collection on the basis of shared myths and deities.
Sumerian religion refers to spiritual beliefs practiced from ca. 4500-1900 BCE in Mesopotamia, or modern-day southern Iraq. Many deities were diffused into other Mesopotamian cultures.
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Associated myth
Epic of Ziusudra Creation, Flood mythNuthsell
The Sumerian deities An, Enlil, and Enki created the "black headed people," the animals, and assigned the cities among the deities. Eridug was given to Nudimmud, the leader. Ziusudra, a Sumerian king, is told that a flood will sweep over the land: "A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made." This was announced by An and Enlil. A huge boat is constructed and it withstands the rain and wind for seven days and seven nights. When the chaos ended, Utu, the sun deity, showed himself and entered the boat, whereby Ziusudra sacrified oxen and offered sheep to him. As the animals disembarked off of Ziusudra's boat, An and Enlil treated Ziusudra kindly and granted him eternal life in "the land Dilmun" because he preserved the seed of mankind.
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Deities depicted
Artifact condition
The artifact named 'B10673' is appraised as being in Poor condition based on how much reliance is placed on other resources to make it complete and readable.
| Condition | Excellent | Just OK | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |
| Completeness | More than 80% | 50 - 80% | Less than 50% |
| Fragmentation | Minor | Moderate | Significant |
| Damage | Minor | Moderate | Significant |
| Legibility | Highly readable | Somewhat readable | Unintelligible |
What's a 'joined' artifact?
A joined artifact is one that was originally part of the other and was broken or fragmented at some point in time. Joins are common among clay tablets because they may get broken during discovery and transportation. The join is notated with the + sign. For example, if tablets A000 and Z999 are joined, we would express this relationship by grouping them as A000 + Z999 to indicate they are related.
If the fragments are owned, maintained, and cataloged by separate museums then classifying the join relationship is critical for accurate translations.
Cite this page
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "B10673: Flood / Deluge Tablet." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 23 Jun. 2020, omnika.org/stable/714. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
OMNIKA (2020, June 23). B10673: Flood / Deluge Tablet. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/714
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "B10673: Flood / Deluge Tablet." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created June 23, 2020. Accessed March 6, 2025. https://omnika.org/stable/714.
