Babylonia, southern Mesopotamia, located along the Euphrates River, ca. 1953 to 1935 BCE. Very fine foundation cone - referred to as dedication or foundation nails, cones, or pegs, inscribed with 18 lines of cuneiform, baked, and stuck into the mud-brick walls to serve as evidence that the temple or building was the divine property of the god to whom it was dedicated - approximately 1/2 of the surface is covered with incised lines of cuneiform text. The text records the building of the wall of Is in by King Ishme-Dagan, after exempting its citizens of from taxes and freeing them from corvee labor. Isin is in the modern site of Tell Bahriayat, on the Euphrates River in central Babylonia. Translated as: Ishme-Dagan, mighty man, king of Isin, king of the four quarters (of the world), when he cancelled the tribute obligations of Nippur, the city beloved by Enlil, and freed its men from military service, he built the great wall of Isin. The name of that wall is “By the grace of Enlil Ishme-Dagan is powerful.†5"L x 1-3/4 D.

Provenance: Ex-Harlan J. Berk, Chicago, IL

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Chip at midsection, else near-choice