Artifact overview
Stone Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I is an artifact (Alabaster stone Bas-Relief) related to the mythological story named 'Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta I.' The artifact's condition is Excellent and it is currently located at Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin in Berlin, Germany, catalogued as record number VA 08146. The language of the text contained is Akkadian (Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform writing system). Its estimated date is 1243—1207 BCE, which is a range based on available data and scholarship. The mythology associated with this artifact includes the Assyrian belief system and related deities: Nabû and Nusku.
About this artifact
Basic details
| Type | Bas-Relief Alabaster stone material |
| Condition | Excellent |
| Date created | 1243—1207 BCE |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Writing system | Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform (script) |
| Location | Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin · Berlin, Germany |
| Museum No. | VA 08146 |
| Digital access | Object ID No. 1743992 Fully digitized |
Provenience
| Discovery | Ištar gate, Aššur, Assyria Present-day Qal'at Sherqat, Iraq |
| UNESCO Site | World Heritage Site No. 1130 Designated since 2003 |
Museum record data
Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin
Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin · Berlin, Germany
Item specifications
| Museum No. | VA 08146 |
| Dimensions | Height: 58 cm; Width: 57.5 cm; Thickness: 23.5 cm |
| Characteristics | Weight: 130 kg |
| Collection | Museum of the Near East |
Mythological contents
Assyrian 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 Tukulti-Ninurta I |
| Deities | Nabû, Nusku |
Cuneiform Digitial Library Initiative data help_outline
Core CDLI data
| CDLI record No. | P466451 |
| Composite No. | Q005863 |
| Period | Middle Assyrian (ca. 1400-1000 BC) |
| Provenience (origin) | Assur (mod. Qalat Sherqat) |
| Primary publication | RIMA 1.0.078.027, ex. 01 |
| Author/date | Grayson, A. Kirk/1987 |
Cultic altars
Altars as well as other structures were frequently found in Assyrian temples. They may have been placed next to statues of kings or other areas designating worship. Miniatures were also common, as is the case with Tukulti-Ninurta's I altar at the template of Ishtar in Assur.[1]
Extended artifact data for VA 08146
See detailed information about this artifact from the entity that has access to it.
Location description
- Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin Berlin, Germany
Full address: Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin, Bodestraße 1-3, Berlin, 10178, Germany
In the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) a lost wonder of the world can still be marvelled at today: the walls of the ancient city of Babylon. They were once counted among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, until they fell into ruin. One section, however, comprising the magnificent, gorgeously coloured Ishtar Gate and the Babylonian Processional Way, was salvaged and reconstructed. These monuments are among the numerous items which give the Vorderasiatisches Museum its claim to be one of the most important collections of oriental antiquities in the world. Others range from a Samarian pottery bowl painted with fish and birds, to Mesopotamian clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, to sacred relief...
Learn more
Record numbers
| Museum No. | VA 08146 |
| Digitized record | Object ID No. 1743992 |
| Artifact access | Other |
Full artifact data
| Title | Symbolic base with inscription Tukulti-Ninurtas I. |
| Sub-title | Construction equipment / installation (other) |
| Collection | Museum of the Near East |
| Characteristics | Height: 58 cm; Width: 57.5 cm; Thickness: 23.5 cm; Weight: 130 kg; Stone alabaster |
| Dating | 1243-1207 BC Period: Middle Assyrian dated: Tukulti-Ninurta I. |
| Provenience | Location: Assur Location modern: Qal'at Scherqat Location detail: Ishtar temple |
| Description | The bas-relief in relief was found in a room of the Ishtar temple in Assur. It originally stood in front of a wall and, as part of the temple inventory, bore cult symbols of worship. Such a god symbol is reproduced on the front side of the stone base: a rectangular writing tablet with a writing pen, which stands on an almost identical base with a stepped base and bulging bulges on both sides. Blackboard and stylus are symbols of Nabu, the god of writing (but see below for inscription, naming of Nusku, god of fire).While the image field of the symbol base remained undecorated on the relief, the surface of the three-dimensional base is provided with a relief scene. A standing and a kneeling male figure worship the cult base. The iconography of both figures is identical down to the last detail: bearded man with a club in his left hand, long fringed robe with a narrow belt, body jewelry. The inscription on the base of the base shows that King Tukulti-Ninurta I is depicted, in two phases of movement. The incompletely preserved inscription reads (excerpt): "Cult pedestal of the god Nusku, the grand vizier, the temple E-kur ..., which everyday reproduces the prayers of Tukulti-Ninurtas (I.) ...". [Ralf B. Wartke] |
| Collection | Museum of the Near East |
Record notes
About these data
| Retrieval date | Apr. 28, 2020 |
| Photographer | Olaf M. Teßmer |
| Copyright | Vorderasiatisches Museum der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage |
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.
Partial Translation, Transliteration, Collation (full)
Akkadian ⟶ English a
| Source a Grayson, "Tukulti-Ninurta I A.0.78.27," 279-180. More info launch |
All texts
| Title |
|
|---|---|
| "Tukulti-Ninurta I A.0.78.27": Artifact Translation of VA 08146 by Albert K. Grayson |
|
Mythological contents
This artifact contains mythological contents associated with Assyrian Religion. The main narrative mentioned may be Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta I, a Prestige myth. The deities depicted or mentioned in the artifact may be: Nabu and Nusku.
Parent belief system
- Assyrian Religion · PolytheisticHeads up. This Religion belongs to the Mesopotamian collection on the basis of shared myths and deities.
Assyrian religion was adapted from Babylonian and Akkadian culture during the first two centuries BCE. The religion was practiced from roughly 2000-500 BCE in modern-day Iraq and its chief deity was Aššur.
Learn more
Associated myth
Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta I Prestige mythNuthsell
Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Assyrian leader, describes his military campaigns against the Babylonians. The poetic narrative embellishes the might and power of Tukulti-Ninurta I and his army, resulting in an Assyrian victory. A statue of the chief Babylonian deity, Marduk, was stolen and taken to the Assyrian capital.
Read more
Deities depicted
CDLI data for P466451
The artifact named Stone Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I is listed in the CDLI database as record number P466451. It belongs to composite number Q005863 .
About the CDLI
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative Est. 1998The Cuneiform Digitial Library Initiative (CDLI) is a collaborative project among the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Oxford, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (Berlin, Germany). The project is funded by various universities and donors in the hopes of cataloging, translating, and digitizing artifacts with text in cuneiform script.
Record numbers
Publication information
| primary publication | RIMA 1.0.078.027, ex. 01 |
| author | Grayson, A. Kirk |
| publication date | 1987 |
| cdli no. | P466451 |
| ucla library ark | 21198/z1n88gw1 |
Collection information
| owner | Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany |
| museum no. | VA 08146 + VA 08277 |
Text contents
| genre | Royal/Monumental |
| sub-genre | witness |
Provenience and chronology
Provenience
| provenience | Assur (mod. Qalat Sherqat) |
Chronology
| period | Middle Assyrian (ca. 1400-1000 BC) |
Physical information
| object type | other (see object remarks) |
| material | stone |
| object remarks | stone 'cultic chair' |
| measurements (mm) | 575 x 570 x |
Record notes
About these data
| Retrieval date | Apr. 11, 2020 |
| Copyright | CDLI @ UCLA |
Artifact condition
The artifact named 'VA 08146' is appraised as being in Excellent 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. "Stone Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 10 Apr. 2020, omnika.org/stable/512. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.
OMNIKA (2020, April 10). Stone Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/512
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Stone Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created April 10, 2020. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/512.
