Additional Early Dynastic Tablets Possibly from Mari

抄録

Notwithstanding the fact that Mari (Tell Harīrī) flourished throughout the Early Dynastic period, the number of Mari’s administrative documents is extremely meagre. This is surprising because more than fifteen thousand tablets and fragments from the Early Dynastic period have been unearthed at Ebla (Tell Mardīkh), which shared a close political relationship with Mari. To date, we know of only forty-two of Mari’s administrative tablets, made available through the publications of D. Charpin. These tablets may be dated to the reign of King Ip-LUL-Il.
 The eight clay tablets (Nos. 1–8) that I publish in this paper will partly compensate for the lack of evidence surrounding the administrative and economic aspects of Early Dynastic Mari. This is because these texts clearly show a close relationship with the Mari documents in three respects. Firstly, identical calendar systems, system of dates, and capacity measurements have been found in both sets of documents. Secondly, the terminology and cuneiform signs for ‘donkeys’ used in the Mari documents are almost identical to those adopted in Nos. 3 and 4 presented here. Thirdly, both No. 3 and one of the Mari documents chronicle the existence of a workers’ group with highly similar composition. Thus, it is highly probable that people of both groups worked for the same public institution.