AD -242 (X202420)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -242 |
|---|---|
| ID | X202420 |
| Museum no. | BM 34920 + 35786 |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Hellenistic · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE |
| Genre | Astronomical Diary |
| Find spot | Babylon |
| Coordinates | 32.5434, 44.4222 |
English translation
By ORACC project adsd/adart2 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [...] I did not watch; clouds cr[ossed] the sky [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [...] being [nn] cubits high to the north. Night of the 7th?, [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [...] ... gusty south wind, all night [clou]ds ...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | [Night of the nnth, beginn]ing of the night, the moon was 2 1/2? [cubits] in front of δ Cancri [...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [... Ni]ght of the 14th, moonrise to sunset: 5°, measured; beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind ρ Le[onis ...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [... The 1]6th, very overcast, rain shower. From the 11th to the 14th, the cold became severe ... [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | [The nnth,] very overcast, dew. Night of the 18th, clouds crossed the sky. The 18th, clouds crossed the sky. [Night of the 19th, clou]ds crossed the sky. The 19th, very overcast. Night [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [...] Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was 14 fingers in front of α Scorpii. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit below [ϑ Ophi]uchi. The 22nd, clouds [...] the sky [... Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, Mercury was] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 10'10'–o 10'10' | ' 6 fingers [... γ Cap]ricorni. The 23rd, rain DUL. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 cubits in front of [β Capri]corni; last part of the night, Mercury was [...] above δ Capri[corni ...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | [...] rain DUL. Night of the 27th, last part of the night, the moon was 1+[x] cubits above δ Capricorni, 1 1/2 cubits above Mercury, the moon being 1/2 cubit [back] to the west [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | [...] Night of the 30th, very overcast. The 30th, clouds crossed the sky; rain but the sandal was not removed. That month, the equivalent was: barley, 1 kurru 4 sūtu; dates, [...] |
| Obverse [12:14] o 13'13'– | [...] wool, 3 1/2 minas were sold for 1 shekel of silver. At that time, Jupiter was in Taurus; around [the nnth, Mercury’s first appearance in the east in ...] |
| Reverse [0:2] r 1r 1–r 22 | [Mars, in the be]ginning of the month, was in Libra, at the end of the month, [in Scorpius; ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | [Month XII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month),] sunset to moonset: [nn°]; clouds, I did not watch; clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 1st, clouds crossed the sky, all [night ... Night of the 2nd, the moon was] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | [x]+1/2 cubits [below α Arietis], the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east; very overcast. The 2nd, in the morning?, [... Night of the 4th,] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | [beginning of the night, the m]oon was 2 cubits behind η Tauri, it stood 2 2/3 cubits behind Jupiter to the east [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | [...] 2/3? cubits. Night of the 7th, beginning [of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of α Geminorum [...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | [Night of the nnth,] beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of [...] ... storm [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | [...] Virgo [...] |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| o | ||
| 1' | [x x] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [x x] NU PAP DIR AN ⸢DIB⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | [x N] KUŠ₃ ana SI NIM GE₆ 7 [...] | |
| 4' | [x] ⸢x⸣ ULU₃ ŠAR₂ kal GE₆ ⸢DIR⸣ [...] | |
| 5' | [GE₆ N] ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ 2 1/2 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 6' | [x] ⸢GE₆⸣ 14 5 ME muš SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL N N ...] | |
| 7' | [x] 16 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN UTAH TA 11 EN 14 ŠED₇ šir ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | [N] ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN na-al-šu₂ GE₆ 18 DIR AN DIB 18 DIR AN DIB [GE₆ 19 ⸢DIR AN DIB⸣ 19 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ [...] | |
| 9' | [x x] GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI₄ 14 SI GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG [MUL₂-KUR-ša₂]-⸢KIR₄⸣-šil-PA 2/3 KUŠ₃ 22 DIR AN [... GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ GU₄.UD x] | |
| 10' | [MUL₂-IGI-ša₂]-⸢SUHUR⸣-MAŠ₂ 6 SI 23 AN DUL GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI [SI]-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ 3 KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ GU₄.UD e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-⸢SUHUR⸣-[MAŠ₂ N N ...] | |
| 11' | [x] AN DUL GE₆ 27 ina ZALAG₂ sin e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 1+[x] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ e GU₄.UD 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ⸢ŠU₂⸣ [LAL ...] | |
| 12' | [x] GE₆ 30 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 30 DIR AN DIB AN E.SIR₂ NU TUH ⸢ITU⸣ BI KI.LAM še-im 1(GUR) 4(BAN₂) ZU₂ [...] | |
| 13' | [x] SIG₂{hi.a} 3 1/2 ma a-na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.⸢BABBAR⸣ ep₂-šu₂ i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina MUL₂.MUL₂ in [N GU₄.UD ina NIM ina x IGI ...] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [AN ina] ⸢SAG⸣ ITU ina RIN₂ ina TIL ITU [ina GIR₂.TAB ...] | |
| 2 | [ŠE 1 N] na DIR NU PAP DIR AN DIB GE₆ 1 DIR AN DIB kal [GE₆ ... GE₆ 2 sin SIG] | |
| 3 | [MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN x]+1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 2 ina ⸢še⸣-[ri₃ ... GE₆ 4 | |
| 4 | [SAG GE₆] ⸢sin⸣ ar₂ ⸢MUL₂.MUL₂⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM ⸢GUB⸣ [...] | |
| 5 | [x x] 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 7 SAG [GE₆] ⸢sin⸣ ina IGI MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 1 KUŠ₃ [...] | |
| 6 | [GE₆ N] ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ina ⸢IGI⸣ [x x x x] me-hu-u₂ [...] | |
| 7 | [...] | |
| 8 | [...] ABSIN [...] | |
Sources & licences
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.