Step 3 of 5

Two versions: Sumerian and Akkadian

This side is empty. On the front side of the tablet the year name is written with the cuneiform script in Sumerian, an ancient language used by the Babylonians for religious and bureaucratic purposes.

Normally, on the reverse the same year name was given, again with cuneiform, but now in Old-Babylonian (Babylonian was a dialect of Akkadian), the everyday language people spoke around that time. Unfortunately LB 800 only has the Sumerian version because the reverse has largely been destroyed.

Now, back to the front . . .