-163A (X301631)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | -163A |
|---|---|
| ID | X301631 |
| Museum no. | BM 45615 |
| 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/adart3 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:1] o 1o 1–o 1o 1 | [Month II,] (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 13°; measured (despite) clouds; clouds were in the sky ... [... the moon was ... in front of Mercury,] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | the moon being 2 cubits low to the south. First part of the night, Mercury was 1 1/2 [cubits] below β Tauri [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | Night of the 2nd, clouds were in the sky, a gusty east wind blew. The 2nd, clouds were in the sky, the north? wind blew. Night of the 3rd, clouds [...] the sky; [beginning of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | 1 cubit [above] γ Geminorum, the moon having passed a little to the east. First part of the night, Mercury was [...] above ζ [Tauri.] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | The 3rd, clouds were in the sky, the east wind blew. Night of the 4th, clouds were in the sky; the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of β Geminorum [...;] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | first part of the night, overcast, rain DUL, it thundered much. The 4th, clouds were in the sky, clouds? [... Night of the 5th, beginning of the night,] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | the moon was 3 cubits in front of δ Cancri, the moon being 1 cubit low to the south. [Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | 2 1/2 cubits [in front of ε Leonis,] the moon being 5 1/2 cubits low to the south. The 6th, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. Ni[ght of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was ... in front of α Leonis] ... |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | the moon being 2 cubits low to the south. The 7th, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. Night of the 8th, be[ginning? of the night, ...] measured; |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | clouds crossed the sky, rain DUL, a little PISAN DIB, it thundered much [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits in front of β Virginis. First part of the night, Me[rcury was ... above η Geminorum.] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | The 9th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 [cubits] in front of γ Virginis [...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | The 10th, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. Night of the 11th, clouds were in the sky; the moon was [...] in front of α [Virginis ...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | first part of the night, Mercury was 1 2/3 cubits above μ Geminorum; all night overcast [...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | The 11th, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. Night of the 12th, clouds were in the sky; the moon was [...] behind α Virgin[is ...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | The 12th, all day very overcast; in the afternoon, rain DUL. Night of the 13th, clouds were in the sky [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | The 13th, clouds were in the sky, the south wind blew. Night of the 14th, all night very overcast, rain [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | clouds were in the sky. Night of the 15th, moonrise to sunset: 8°, measured (despite) clouds; clouds were in the sky. First part [of the night, Mercury was] 4 1/2 cubits [above γ Geminorum.] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | The 15th, sunrise to moonset: 5° 30´, measured (despite) clouds; clouds [...] the sky [...] |
| Obverse [19:21] o 2020– | first part of the night, the moon? was behind [...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | ... the 28th?, overcast, east wind? ... [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | much ..., south and east winds, ... [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | the west wind blew, a little rain shower. The 29th, clouds [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | That month, the equivalent was: barley, in the beginning of the month, 2 pānu 4 sūtu, until the mi[ddle of the month, ...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | dates, in the beginning of the month, 5 pānu 3 sūtu, until the end of the month 4 pānu x [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | sesame, [in the beginning of the m]onth, 1 pānu 3 qa, until the end of the month, 5 sūtu [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | ...; wool, 4 minas for 1 shekel of wr[ought] silver [... At that time,] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | Jupiter was in Sagittarius; Mercury was in Gemini; Saturn was in Scorpius; Venus and Mars, which had set, [were not visible ...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | That month, the river level from the 1st to the 5th? rose 2 cubits, total: 14 was the na (gauge) ... [...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | receded 6 fingers, total: 15 was the na (gauge); the 18th, 19th, 20th, it rose 1/2 cubit, total: 12 was the na (gauge) [...] |
| Reverse [11:13] r 12'12'–r 13'13' | from the 22nd to the end of the month, it receded 1 cubit 8 fingers, total: 20 was the na (gauge). |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | Month III, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 26°, measured (despite) clouds; clouds were in the sky, the west wind blew. Night of the 1st, ... [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | The 1st, clouds were in the sky, the west wind blew. Night of the 2nd, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 3rd, very overcast; last part of the [night, ...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | The 3rd, all day very overcast; in the afternoon, rain DUL, lightning flashed, it thundered [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | Night of the 4th, the moon was 3 1/2 cubits in front of α Leonis, the moon being 2 cubits low to the south. Ni[ght of the 5th, beginning of the night,] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | the moon was 2/3? cubit in front of ρ Leonis, the moon being 2 cubits [low to the south.] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 5 cubits below θ Leonis. |
| Reverse [18:19] r 19'19'–r 19'19' | The 6th, clouds were in the sky, the west wind blew. Night of the 7th, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits behind β Virginis, [the moon being ...] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | low to the south. Night of the 8th, beg[inning of the night, the m]oon was 2 1/2 cubits behind γ Virginis [...] |
| Reverse [20:22] r 21'21'– | ... [...] ... Night of the 9th, the moon was behind [...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | [...] having passed [...] cubits to the east. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in fro[nt? of ...] |
| Top [1:2] t.e. 22–t.e. 22 | [...] were in the sky. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] below β Librae, |
| Top [2:3] t.e. 33–t.e. 33 | [the moon having nn] cubits passed to the east. The 11th, clouds were in the sky, the south wind [...] |
| Top [3:4] t.e. 44–t.e. 44 | [... Night of the 12th, ...] 15? ... the moon? was 1 cubit behind β Scorpii [...] |
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 | {[itu}GU₄] 30 13 na-su DIR muš DIR AN ZA ⸢x x x⸣ [(...) sin ina IGI GU₄.UD N N ana ŠU₂ GUB] | |
| 2 | sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG USAN GU₄.UD SIG ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI 1 1/2 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 3 | GE₆ 2 DIR AN ZA KUR ŠAR₂ GIN 2 DIR AN ZA ⸢SI⸣ GIN GE₆ 3 DIR AN [x SAG GE₆ sin e] | |
| 4 | MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 1 KUŠ₃ sin i-ṣa ana NIM DIB USAN GU₄.UD e ⸢ŠUR⸣-[GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ N N] | |
| 5 | 3 DIR AN ZA ⸢KUR⸣ GIN GE₆ 4 DIR AN ZA sin ina IGI MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ [...] | |
| 6 | USAN ŠU₂ AN DUL-hat U GU₃-šu₂ MAH ŠUB 4 DIR AN ZA DIR [... GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆] | |
| 7 | sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG [GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SAG-A] | |
| 8 | 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 5 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG 6 DIR AN ZA SI GIN ⸢GE₆⸣ 7 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI] ⸢LUGAL⸣ [x] ⸢x⸣ | |
| 9 | sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG 7 DIR AN ZA SI GIN GE₆ 8 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] muš | |
| 10 | DIR AN DIB AN DUL-hat PISAN i-ṣa DIB U GU₃-šu₂ MAH [ŠUB ...] | |
| 11 | GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 2 KUŠ₃ USAN ⸢GU₄⸣.[UD e MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ N N] | |
| 12 | 9 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 3 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 13 | 10 DIR AN ZA SI GIN GE₆ 11 DIR AN ZA sin ina IGI SA₄-[ša₂-ABSIN N N ...] | |
| 14 | USAN GU₄.UD e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 1 2/3 ⸢KUŠ₃ kal⸣ GE₆ ŠU₂ [...] | |
| 15 | 11 DIR AN ZA SI GIN GE₆ 12 DIR AN ZA sin ar₂ SA₄-ša₂-⸢ABSIN⸣ [N N ...] | |
| 16 | 12 kal ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ina KIN.SIG AN DUL-hat GE₆ 13 DIR AN ZA [...] | |
| 17 | 13 DIR AN ZA ULU₃ GIN GE₆ 14 kal GE₆ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN [...] | |
| 18 | ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA GE₆ 15 8 ME DIR muš DIR AN ZA ⸢USAN⸣ [GU₄.UD e MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA] | |
| 19 | 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ 15 5.30 na DIR muš DIR ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
| 20 | ⸢USAN⸣ sin ⸢ar₂⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | ⸢x x 28 ŠU₂ KUR ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | MAH NE ULU₃ u KUR ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | MAR GIN AN UTAH i-ṣa 29 DIR [...] | |
| 5' | ITU BI KI.LAM še-im ina SAG ITU 2(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) EN ⸢MURUB₄⸣ [ITU ...] | |
| 6' | ZU₂.LAM.MA ina SAG ITU 5(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) EN TIL ITU 4(BARIG) ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 7' | ŠE.GIŠ.I₃ [ina SAG] ⸢ITU⸣ 1 PI 3 qa EN TIL ITU 5(BAN₂) [...] | |
| 8' | ⸢x⸣ SIG₂{hi.a} 4 MA.NA a-na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR ⸢ep⸣-[šu₂ ... i-nu-šu₂] | |
| 9' | MUL₂.BABBAR ina ⸢PA⸣ GU₄.UD ina MAŠ.MAŠ GENNA ina GIR₂.TAB dele-bat u AN ša₂ ŠU₂-⸢u₂⸣ [NU IGI ...] | |
| 10' | ITU BI ILLU TA 1 EN 5 2 KUŠ₃ GIN PAP 14 na ⸢x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | 6 SI LAL PAP 15 na 18 19 20 1/2 KUŠ₃ GIN PAP 12 na [x x] | |
| 12' | TA 22 EN TIL ITU 1 KUŠ₃ 8 SI LAL PAP 20 na | |
| 13' | SIG 1 26 na-su DIR muš DIR AN ZA MAR GIN GE₆ 1 ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 14' | 1 DIR AN ZA MAR GIN GE₆ 2 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 3 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ina ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ [...] | |
| 15' | 3 kal ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ⸢ina KIN.SIG⸣ AN DUL-hat GIR₂ GIR₂ U GU₃-šu₂ [...] | |
| 16' | GE₆ 4 sin ina IGI LUGAL 3 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG ⸢GE₆⸣ 5 SAG GE₆] | |
| 17' | sin ina IGI MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL 2/3 KUŠ₃ sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana [ULU₃ SIG] | |
| 18' | GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin SIG GIŠ.KUN-A 5 KUŠ₃ | |
| 19' | 6 DIR AN ZA MAR GIN ⸢GE₆⸣ 7 sin ar₂ GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 1/2 KUŠ₃⸣ [sin N N] | |
| 20' | ana ULU₃ SIG GE₆ 8 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆] ⸢sin ar₂⸣ DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 2 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 21' | ⸢x x⸣ ŠU₂ 8 [x x x] GIN GE₆ 9 sin ar₂ [...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [x x] KUŠ₃ ana ⸢NIM DIB⸣ GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin ina x⸣ [...] | |
| 2 | [x x] ⸢AN⸣ ZA GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin SIG RIN₂-ša₂-[SI N N] | |
| 3 | [sin N] KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB 11 DIR AN ZA ULU₃ [...] | |
| 4 | [x x x (x)] 15 ⸢x sin⸣ ar₂ MUL₂-e-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
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.