Boundary stone (kudurru)

Babylonian, about 978-943 BC
From Sippar, southern Iraq

A legal statement about the ownership of some land

This kudurru records a legal settlement of the title to an estate in the district of the city of Sha-mamitu which had formerly been the property of Arad-Sibitti and his family, but had passed through marriage to the family of Burusha, the jewel-worker.

According to the cuneiform inscription, for several years previously there had been friction between the two families, and the claim to the land was contested. The text traces the history of the feud between the families. After citing the legal evidence for the transfer of the estate to Burusha's family, it lists the payment of 887 shekels of silver by which Burusha secured ownership of the land. Typically, the text ends with curses on anyone who would destroy or steal the stone. Nineteen divine symbols protect the document while the individuals shown are named as the king of Babylon, Nabu-mukin-apli (978-943 BC), facing Arad-Sibitti and his sister.

L.W. King, Babylonian boundary stones and (London, Trustees of the British Museum, 1912)