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How many cuneiform tablets survive, and what share has been published or transliterated?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·1 answer·0·0 following
One answer, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

One answer has been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. One is still possible.

Why it matters

CDLI says collections hold more than 500,000 inscribed objects and that it has catalogued more than 400,000; the 2026 York programme says more than 550,000 and the British Museum alone about 130,000⁠[1]⁠[2]⁠[3]. None of these is a count, and catalogued is not the same as transliterated: for the Ur III period, the one block that has been censused, 105,187 texts are catalogued and 75,818 transliterated against at least 120,000 thought to exist⁠[4].

Answers 1

Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

Next steps 1

1
Tabulate the CDLI catalogue by period and genre with the share transliterated.
~6 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

History

  1. Manuel Molina: cDLI estimates more than 500,000 exemplars and has catalogued more than 400,000; York's 2026 figure is above 550,000…For: 500,000+ survive; under half transliterated
  2. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative: cDLI estimates more than 500,000 exemplars and has catalogued more than 400,000; York's 2026 figure is above 550,000…For: 500,000+ survive; under half transliterated
  3. University of York, Department of Archaeology: cDLI estimates more than 500,000 exemplars and has catalogued more than 400,000; York's 2026 figure is above 550,000…For: 500,000+ survive; under half transliterated
  4. Session 1: raised the question
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