Gudea cylinders

Gudea cylinders B and A. Two cylinders telling of the construction of the temple of Ninurta (Ningursu), Girsu. 2125 BC. Terra cotta. Louvre Museum

Gudea cylinder A

Gudea cylinder B

Content photographs by Ernest de Sarzec (1896)

The Gudea cylinders are a pair of terracotta cylinders dating to c. 2125 BC, on which is written in cuneiform a Sumerian myth called the Building of Ningirsu's temple.^[1] The cylinders were made by Gudea, the ruler of Lagash, and were found in 1877 during excavations at Telloh (ancient Girsu), Iraq and are now displayed in the Louvre in Paris, France. They are the largest cuneiform cylinders yet discovered and contain the longest known text written in the Sumerian language.^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference Jacobsen1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Jeremy A. Black; Jeremy Black; Graham Cunningham; Eleanor Robson (2006). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-929633-0.

[Jacobsen1997-1] Cite error: The named reference Jacobsen1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[BlackBlack2006-2] Jeremy A. Black; Jeremy Black; Graham Cunningham; Eleanor Robson (2006). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-929633-0.

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