Dated August/September 1803 BC. A pillow-shaped clay tablet with cuneiform text concerning the division of a big tract of land between two men, accompanied by a typed scholarly note by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Clay Tablet, 96 x 53 mm., with 35 Lines of Cuneiform Script on Obverse, Reverse and Upper Edge. This is an Old Babylonian legal document dated to the reign of Rîm-Sîn I of Larsa, to the 6th month of the 20th year, c. August/September 1803 B.C. It concerns the division of a big tract of open land between two men: Translation The land, all there is, open country and uncultivated land: Sîn-magir and Eteyatum are dividing it equally. That near (the town) Imgur-Nanna is the share of Eteyatum. That near (the town) Bari-..... is the share of Sîn-magir. One (of these two men) may not raise any claim (in this matter) against the other. They took an oath by (the gods) Marduk and Shamash, and by Rîm-Sîn the king. Before Ili-ishme'anni Before Ubayatum, the seal-cutter Before Sîn-ludlul, the night watchman Before Nanna-igidu, the merchant banker Before Imgur-Damu Before Mânum, the seal-cutter Before Ali-illati, the seal-cutter Before Ili-awîli, the seal-cutter Before Img?'a, the seal-cutter Before T?ribum, the seal-cutter Before Ili-yatum, the seal-cutter Before Ili-iddinam, the night-watchman Before Sîn-apil .... Before Nanna-manba Before Hazirum, the merchant banker Before Mutum-ilum Before Sîn-ishme'anni, the merchant banker Before Illuku Before Mahnu-B?bilim, the royal herald. Seals of the Witnesses, the elders. Month: work of Inanna Year: by the mighty weapon which Enlil gave him, he destroyed D?rum. The tablet is joined from two pieces, and there is a little loss of surface on both sides, but most of the text is preserved and legible. On the left-hand and lower edges cylinder seals have been rolled to give the seal inscription, but these are too feint to be read with certainty. But they are seals of some of the witnesses, as indicated at the end of the list of witnesses. The document in form is a typical Old Babylonian legal text: a short statement of what was being done, followed by witnesses and the date. But it is entirely unusual for its content. Two men are dividing up unused land only defined by nearness to two named small towns. Babylonia contained much land suitable in principle for agriculture, but it only had use if it was irrigated, which involved massive public works to dig the irrigation canals and ditches and to maintain them as the annual flood rose. And when this work was done and functioning irrigation was in place, all the land was carefully surveyed and let out for use with full specification of areas. But in this case no such measurements are given, and the division rests on proximity to two small towns. This is entirely unusual. Equally unusual is the list of witnesses, nineteen in total, a much larger number than usual, implying some matter of more than normal importance, and the professions of the witnesses seem to be without parallel. Of the nineteen seven are seal-cutters, three are merchant bankers, and two are night-watchmen. One, the last, is the king's heralds. The night watchmen were probably the equivalent of senior police officers today. Such a big concentration of important people implies some major matter. As usual, the document was not intended to satisfy our curiosity, and one can only speculate. All the unused land outside the irrigated areas seems to have been crown property in principle. One may then suggest that in this case two men who had together somehow got a lease on a big piece of such land decided to divide it and have half each. Perhaps they obtained the lease in order to develop an irrigation system by their private means, and to take the profits if it was successful. The document is an important one for economic history.' 171 grams, 96mm (3 3/4"). Ex central London gallery; acquired on the UK art market in 1998; formerly from an old London collection; examined by the late Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s; and accompanied by an original typed two page unsigned scholarly note and translation by the Professor.