Unread Atlas
BM 038685 (P563955)
Incantation, Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | BM 038685 |
|---|---|
| ID | P563955 |
| Museum no. | BM 038685 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian; Sumerian |
| Period | Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE |
| Genre | Incantation |
Machine English (draft)
Machine draft. Machine English from montycrypto/atf-to-english (atf-en-best-v2, 2026-10-05), generated line by line from the source transliteration (not reproduced here). It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|
| reverse 8' | He entrusted it to his eunuch and saw his face. |
| reverse 2' | ... the rites of the irtu(?)... which is on it...... |
| obverse 8' | ... his dwelling |
| reverse 39' | These are the commands of the army that I have sent to you. |
| reverse 23' | The gods of the night, the evening watch, the middle watch, and the evening watch, he saw it. |
| obverse 24' | ... guard... |
| reverse 31' | (If) a star rises from its position and stands in the position of a mountain and stands there: |
| reverse 38' | They are the upper part |
| reverse 16' | ... a star whose appearance has become visible behind it, and |
| obverse 1' | Creator of the gods |
| obverse 25' | ... in Nisannu (I) to the right |
| reverse 32' | This is the sign that you recite. |
| reverse 27' | "If a star reaches its position and reaches the star of the king" (= EAE XVI unknown): |
| obverse 11' | ... from K- |
| reverse 1' | The gaddtu(?)... |
| reverse 9' | This is the sign of Meshhu. |
| obverse 33' | Say to the haruspex: |
| reverse 15' | ......... |
| obverse 39' | of the gods, who dwells... |
| reverse 37' | (If) he does not make the black-headed (people) bow down(?) at his left hand |
| obverse 23' | ... in the middle watch... from the middle watch. |
| obverse 12' | ...... |
| obverse 41' | ...... |
| reverse 19' | he became frightened and their cultic rites he made complete. Further, that star in his position |
| reverse 34' | (If) he stands (there) and his left shoulder is swollen: this sign is favourable. |
| reverse 4' | This is the sign of a throne. |
| reverse 33' | (If) a star is located from Anzazishu: he will enter the heart of a star and will enter it. |
| reverse 20' | He became frightened and stood there. He did not make a night long. He sat on his position and sat on his throne. |
| obverse 14' | ... to the land |
| obverse 38' | from month... to month XII |
| obverse 6' | Anu, Enlil, Ea and |
| obverse 17' | ......, and |
| obverse 4' | Anu in the wide heavens |
| reverse 5' | a star from its position either 1 or 2 or 3 or many |
| reverse 0' | the stars of the god |
| reverse 18' | Afterwards, the stars of the night... |
| obverse 16' | ... not... |
| obverse 27' | ...... their decisions he established for the lands. |
| reverse 25' | ... the watch is set towards the stars, and the watch is finished and stands there. |
| obverse 20' | ... he established for 1 mina and a watch. |
| obverse 40' | ... the reedbeds and(?) |
| obverse 5' | ... of the heavens, the wide earth... they... |
| reverse 24' | and in the guards these... he smote him, and... |
| obverse 19' | .............. |
| reverse 13' | This is the sign that is written on the tablet. |
| obverse 29' | ... the great gods... to the lands. |
| obverse 28' | ... for good deeds, evil, and famine. |
| reverse 14' | a star from its position a star towards a star...... |
| reverse 28' | stands (there) and a star comes close to a star and either he stands (there) |
| obverse 18' | ...... to... |
| obverse 2' | ... who widens the seed of the people... |
| reverse 29' | He entered the guard, but he did not return to Anzaziu. |
| obverse 31' | ... Ea with... they shall give him and they shall proclaim |
| reverse 36' | Diary from daybreak: that star? emerges and is red and yellow-green. |
| obverse 21' | ... in manzaza... |
| obverse 7' | The wide heavens,..., the dwelling of the gods,..., |
| reverse 6' | ... a star turned into a year. Like a one-year old, |
| reverse 3' | ... stars...... |
| obverse 9' | ... of heaven and earth... |
| obverse 37' | ... may they bring to me and the beginning of their eyes |
| obverse 32' | ... that he smote |
| reverse 30' | This is the sign of the takkru-demon. |
| obverse 15' | ... the gods... |
| obverse 22' | ............ |
| obverse 34' | ... their... their... their... and their... |
| reverse 17' | he smote himself with him, and that star he smote, and |
| reverse 10' | a star in its position either 1 or 2 or 3 or many |
| obverse 35' | their(?)... you will see |
| reverse 35' | If a star in its position or from the middle watch or from the middle watch or from the middle watch, |
| obverse 26' | ... black and white... |
| obverse 3' | Enlil and Ea |
| reverse 40' | In the midst of the heavens, in your midst |
| reverse 7' | he approached, and he became frightened, and approached, and |
| obverse 10' | ... their... in the heavens |
| reverse 11' | he seized and, after that, his limbs he did not abandon, and |
| obverse 30' | ... their decisions he gave to the sage. |
| obverse 13' | ... the gods |
| reverse 12' | He approached the heaven, but in his position you did not see him. |
| reverse 22' | a star from his position as much as he established, and daily to his position |
| reverse 26' | This is the wording of a lifted-hand prayer to me. |
| obverse 36' | from Nisannu month I to the 30th day |
| reverse 21' | This is the sign of kindness. |
Sources & licences
- Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched) · Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), https://cdli.earth/ ; cite CDLI and the P-number
- electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich · MIT (eBL Zenodo dataset); platform terms unverified · electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich, https://www.ebl.lmu.de/ ; Zenodo dataset (MIT)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.