The Tandy Archaeological Museum has recently been loaned a substantial body of cuneiform documents belonging to Mr. Randy Best, local collector and patron. A portion of these documents has been included for display in the Written Word . In the coming weeks these tablets will be rotated out for conservation treatment. As can be seen from these photographs, the condition of many is critical and will require both chemical and physical stabilization.
While these tablets will likewise require the attention of a specialized epigrapher before any formal conclusions may be drawn pertaining to their date of manufacture, it is worth making a preliminary comment on their most basic features and shared characteristics.
This particular assemblage of tablets is relatively uniform in shape, thickness, dimensional proportion, coloration, textual scale, wedge size as well as line spacing. The spacing of ruled lines in particular is of significance when attempting to assign a temporal category to these documents. Much like the evolution of textual fonts from typewriters to computers, so changes the format of the written word in antiquity.
Line format in cuneiform documents appears to vary significantly throughout the 4rd and into the late 3rd millennium BC. However, from the Ur III period (c. 2100-2000 BC) forward, tight horizontal ruling appears more frequently and in greater concentration. It is possible that these documents may originate from this period. Only further investigation will tell.
The Tandy Archaeological Museum is in the planning stages of photographic digitization for these along with the Carlson Collection. Hopefully, once documented and made accessible to a larger body of scholars, we may acquire a stronger notion for the temporal placement and textual content of these documents.
