Cuneiform Tablet From Turkey Records Furniture Sale

ALALAH, TURKEY—IFL Science reports that a cuneiform tablet unearthed in southern Turkey at the site of Eski Alalah, which is also known as the Aççana Mound, records the purchase of a large quantity of wooden furniture. The text, written in Akkadian, has been dated to about 3,500 years ago. The scribe recorded information about the sellers and buyers, said Mehmet Ersoy, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, in addition to describing the purchase of chairs, tables, and stools. “We believe that this tablet will provide a new perspective in terms of understanding the economic structure and state system of the Late Bronze Age,” Ersoy said. To read more about Bronze Age cuneiform tablets, go to “The Ugarit Archives.”