Considerations on a Delivery of Spearheads from Ebla

The discovery of a single small tablet, TM.07.G.201 (8.0 x 8.6 x 2.5 cm), in a room north of the Authence Hall of the Royal Palace at Ebla del Palazzo provides us with the opportunity to reconsider the limitations of the textual information often provided by cuneiform documents.1 Obverse (reverse uninscribed) I. 1. There were various meetings with emissaries of the king of Kis, and ties of loyalty were strengthened anew with a number of city-states, including Ibu/ibu, Garmu, and Ursa'um (mentioned in the text under consideration here). According to the AAM TM.75.G2507 rev. XVII 23-24, the overseer of Adas received 306 spearheads, (gis-gu-kak-gid urudu)in the eleventh year of Ibbi-zikir. The left arm is bent at the elbow, the hand turned towards the left cheek.6 This unusual pose could represent a gesture of condolence made during funeral rites (the mourning women on three sides of the Ahiram sarcophagus, with unlaced corsets, injure their breasts and tear their hair).7 Apart from the statuettes, different kinds of bronze and stone objects were also found on the floor.