Foundation Rites & the Buried Record
A king buried his name in the foundations, writing to a future ruler: restore this house, and honor mine.
When a king built a temple or palace, he marked the act with foundation rituals: depositing figurines, precious materials, and inscribed records into the foundations. These buried inscriptions often spoke past the present to a future king, asking him, when the building one day fell into ruin, to read the record, honor the original builder's name, and restore the structure. It was a way of binding the generations across centuries through the fabric of a sacred building — and, incidentally, a major reason we can recover so many royal names and deeds today, dug from the foundations where the kings themselves placed them.
Key passages(20)
Gudea, ruler of Lagaš. Since Bau, the kind woman, the child of An, the lady of Iri-kug, the lady of abundance, the lady who decides Ĝirsu's fate, the lady (who is) the judge of her city, the lady who
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Ninĝišzida is the personal god of Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, who built the E-ana. For Inana, the lady of all lands, his lady, after she had looked at him with her life-giving look, Gudea, (whose) name is
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Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, devotee of Ĝatumdug. Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, devotee of Ĝ̃atumdug, your beloved slave, who made an eternal thing appear and built Ninĝirsu's E-ninnnu-anzud-babbar, to whom Ĝ̃atum
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Gudea, ruler of Lagaš. For Ninĝirsu, the powerful warrior of Enlil, his master, Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, (whose) name is everlasting, the boat-tower of Enlil, the shepherd chosen by Ninĝirsu in the hear
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Because of his great love for Suen, Ibbi-Suen, the protective god of his land, the powerful king, king of Urim, king of the four quarters, decided to extend Urim. On this account, in order to make the
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Cols. i—iv missing [ from ] gold, [ each of ] who [ se weight is fifty minas ]. Lacuna I bui [ lt ] (and) comple [ ted Nēmed-Enlil, its outer wall, (and) had ] (it) filled with [ spl ] endor, (making
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Cols. i–v completely missing they struck down his [ warri ] ors with the sword. They carried off [ in ] to Assyria [ peopl ] e, oxen, (and) sheep and goats, his substantial [ boo ] ty. They [ captu ]
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For Ninhursaĝa, the mother of the gods, Lu-Utu, governor of Umma, built a temple on her beloved square for his well-being. He made its foundation unblemished. He drove in its foundation pegs, and with
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At the time when Lugal-ayaĝu, the temple administrator of Iškur, ruled in Adab, Damgalnuna chose Ur-Imma in her holy heart and told him “Build my temple for me!”, and after Ur-Imma had gone to Damgaln
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[ Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), capable shepherd ], favorite of the great gods, [ guardian of truth who loves just
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Lacuna [... ]... [... ] its foundations [... ]. [ I enlarged ] the si [ te of the citadel and Nineveh ], my [ c ] apital [ city. I broadened their squares and brought light into the alleys and streets
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[ S ] ennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, [ king of the fou ] r [ quarters ] (of the world), leader of a widespread population, [ the one who fashioned image (s) o
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[... ] the wall of the temple of a god buckles, for the demolishing and renovating of that temple, the diviner deconsecrates [... ] and in a favourable month on a propitious day during the night you s
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Lacuna I placed (the bed) [... ]... [... which ] is laden [ with sexual charm ]. I presented the god Marduk, the one who loves my reign, with [ a b ] ed of ebony, a dur [ able ] wood, (and) which is c
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Ashurbanipal, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of As [ syria ], the pious servant, the one who reveres the great gods, beloved of the god Aššur and the goddess Mullissu, the one requir
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Lacuna Moreover, I struck with the sword Teušpâ, [ a Cimmerian, together with his entire army, in the territory of the land Ḫubušnu ]; I conquered [ Sidon, which is in the midst of the sea, caught [ A
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Esarhaddon, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of (i 5) Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, pious prince who reveres the gods Nabû and Marduk — Before my time the great lord, the god Marduk, b
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He mixed the clay in a pure place, and made the (first) brick in an undefiled place. He purified the foundation by carrying around fire, and anointed the foundation pegs with oil of princely fragrance
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[ For ] the goddess Ištar, mistress of the lands, (most) eminent of the gods, [ (most) valiant ] of the goddesses, [... ] fierce, terrifying deluge, [ (...) who ] is endowed with [... ] (i 5) [... ]..
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Sennacherib, [ great ] king, [ strong king ], king of the world, king of Assyria, king of [ the four quarters (of the world) ], capable shepherd, favorite of the [ great ] gods, guardian of truth who
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