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    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia
    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia
    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia
    Ebook87 pages1 hour

    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia

    By Louis F. Hartman

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    About this ebook

    This fascinating text deciphers the neo-Babylonian inscriptions on the 23rd Tablet, acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1886, which describes the preparation of alcoholic beverages from cereals in Mesopotamia. This classic work would make a wonderful addition to the library of anyone with an interest in the Mesopotamian period, lexicography, and the ancient history of beer brewing. Contents include: Beer Brewing; 1 - The New Text: Met. Mus. 86-11-386; 2 - The Technology of The Brewer; 3 - Contents of The Tablet; 4 - Transliteration and Translation; 5 - Apparatus Criticus; 6 - index of Discussed Words; 7 - List of Illustrations; Notes; Additions and Corrections. This vintage text is being republished in a high quality, modern and affordable edition. It comes complete with a new introduction and features reproductions of the original illustrations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateApr 18, 2013
    ISBN9781447492191
    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia

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    • 5/5
      Very good read on Mesopotamia techniques for brewing, the illustrations also were cool

    Book preview

    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia - Louis F. Hartman

    SUPPLEMENT

    TO THE

    JOURNAL

    OF THE

    AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY

    EDITOR

    MURRAY B. EMENEAU

    University of California

    ASSOCIATE EDITORS

    __________

    __________

    ON BEER AND BREWING TECHNIQUES

    IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

    According to the XXIIIrd Tablet of the Series

    AR . r a = ubullu

    BY

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    I. THE NEW TEXT: METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 86-11-386

    Louis F. Hartman,

    Catholic University, Washington, D. C.

    Autograph Copies

    II. THE XXIIIRD TABLET OF THE SERIES HAR. r a = ubullu

    A. L. Oppenheim,

    Oriental Institute, University of Chicago

    1. Introduction

    2. The Technology of Brewing

    3. Contents of the Tablet

    4. Transliteration and Translation

    5. Apparatus Criticus

    6. Index of Discussed Akkadian and Sumerian Words

    7. List of Illustrations

    Notes

    Additions and Corrections

    8. Illustrations

    I

    THE NEW TEXT: Met. Mus. 86-11-386

    LOUIS F. HARTMAN

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York acquired this tablet through a dealer in 1886, and nothing is now known of its exact provenance. However, since it is inscribed in typical neo-Babylonian script, we may safely assume that it was written somewhere in southern Mesopotamia during the fifth or fourth century B. C.—copied, of course, at that time from a much older text. Its excellent script and the fine texture of its clay make it probable that the tablet was made for one of the temple-school libraries.

    Somewhat more than one third of the original tablet is now lost. The portion that still remains measures from 10 to 12 cm in height and from 6 to 10.5 cm in width. It is of some importance to establish, as far as possible, the size of the complete tablet as it first existed, for from this we can conclude the approximate number of lines that are now missing from our text. The obverse side is flat, but the reverse is noticeably convex. Hence, like so many other tablets of that period, this tablet was originally thickest at its center and became thinner towards all four edges. The center of thickness is still within our present fragment. From its position we can be absolutely sure that the tablet originally contained three double (Sumerian and Akkadian) columns of text on each side. The first and sixth double columns, which were respectively on the obverse and reverse of the left-hand side of the tablet, are now almost entirely lost. But they must have been of the same width as that of the other columns. Therefore, the original width can be ascertained as 13.5 cm. The original height cannot be determined with such accuracy. On the reverse the greatest thickness seems to be at about the 21st line of Col. V, that is, between the words UD and is-qu-uq-qu. Accordingly, the original height was about 15 cm, and about nine or ten lines are now missing at the bottom of this column. Thus, there are about 44 lines in each double column. Allowing some space for a colophon at the end of Col. VI, the original tablet probably had about 260 lines of text. Every tenth line was marked with an ‘angle-wedge’ (Winkelhaken). If our supposition is correct that there were 88 lines in Col. I and II, and 10 lines missing at the top of Col. III, then the first preserved of these special wedges marks the line of s a . i . i n as the 100th line of the original column.

    At the time when this tablet was written it was fire-baked to a hard consistency. This gave it a lovely reddish-brown color, but also rendered it quite brittle, so that it cracks quite easily. Despite the care which it receives in the museum, it is now in a worse condition than it was when I first copied it in 1939.

    On Beer and Brewing Techniques in Ancient Mesopotamia

    Louis F. Hartman

    II

    The XXIIIrd Tablet of the Series AR . r a = ubullu

    A. LEO OPPENHEIM

    1.  Introduction

    Until now, our knowledge concerning the contents of the 23rd tablet¹ of the series u r5 . r a = ubullu² was based on a fragmentary tablet in the British Museum (K 4351)³ and on the information contained in the commentary-series AR . GUD = imrû = ballu and the so-called Vorläufer texts. The Kuyundjik tablet K 4351⁴ (published in II R 30 no. 5, transliterated and translated by A. Goetze in MVAeg XXXII/1 65 ff.) yields about 26 complete equations and approximately as many fragmentary lines. The commentary-series (cf. note 5 for the sources) discusses (in its 6th tablet, according to the reconstruction by Dr. Landsberger which I was able to use) the tablets 22-25 of the main series, dedicating only 52 lines to our tablet.⁵

    For these reasons the present tablet, Metropolitan Museum 86-11-386, with its 140 (partly broken) entries, constitutes a very welcome addition to our knowledge of native Mesopotamian lexicography. Unfortunately, nearly half of the equations on the new tablet duplicate those of the British Museum text so that about half of the original contents of the 23rd tablet still remains unknown. Nevertheless, the Metropolitan Museum text does yield a number of new equations, additions to and corrections of previous readings, and—above all—valuable information concerning the reading of certain logograms which the scribe of this tablet (in contradistinction to that of the Kuyundjik text) has obligingly preserved in his frequent glosses.

    The commentary-series and the Sumerian Vorläufer texts allow us to reconstruct the sequence of subjects which were treated in the 23rd tablet

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