Unpublished Persepolis Elamite Tablets in the Tehran Archaeological Museum (Museh Iran Bastan)

Abstract

By courtesy of the Tehran Archaeological Museum (Museh Iran Bastan), I had an opportunity to study unpublished Persepolis Elamite tablets in the Museum in 1973. On examination, fourteen Persepolis Treasury tablets (Teh. 9(w); Teh. 32; Teh. 34; Teh. 49 w; Teh. Pers. 3152-31 (?); 214/56 Teh. illus. B; dk 275 No. 25; 279; 2152/55 6(w); 2290; 2290 742; 3152/9 Teh. no. 38(w); no number; no number) and one Persepolis Fortification tablet (3152/37 Teh. 29w) were identified, but six documents (2290; 2290; 2290; 2451; 3152/52 48(w); 3152/65 97w) remained assigned to neither. In addition, some of documents referred as “not found” in Cameron's Index to Published Treasury Tablets (JNES 24, 1965, pp. 190-192) were identified as follows: 2275=PT45, 2279=PT60 and Teh. 3152/72=PT67. (Persian numerals and letters in italics.)
In the present preliminary report, one of these unpublished Persepolis Treasury tablets, 2290 (one of documents with the same number), is transliterated (see p. 71), translated and commented. This is Marrezza's letter addressed to Barišša the treasurer of Parsa dated in the third year of Artaxerxes I, recording allocations to kurtaš kurnukašbe mišbazanaš. The expression “kurtaš kurnukašbe mišbazanaš”, which has been not found in any published Persepolis Elamite documents, is apparently parallel with “kurtaš marrip mišbazana” in PT 79 and further with “grd 'mnn vspzn” in the seventh Aršdma-letter. It is worth noting that the correspondence of kurnukašbe to marrip or 'mnn correctly reflects the translation of OP karnuvaka into El. marrip or Akk. ummanate, MES in Darius' Foundation Inscription at Susa (DSf),