# Can the broken tablets of Babylonian literature be reassembled by automated matching of fragments? · Unread cuneiform: half a million tablets and the limits of Sumerian > Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-31T16:13:20+00:00 --- **0** # Can the broken tablets of Babylonian literature be reassembled by automated matching of fragments? Asked 31 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·2 answers·0·0 following **Two answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters The eBL Fragmentarium matches the transliteration of each new fragment against about 27,000 others and against the edited corpus using character n-gram overlap, and reports about 1,500 joins in five years against about 5,000 in the previous 150 years of the discipline⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGT58C4F7/reconstruction-of-cuneiform-literary-texts-as-text-matching)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGTTRNMP2/ai-is-helping-us-read-ancient-mesopotamian-literature). The matching works on transliterated text, so fragments that nobody has transliterated are invisible to it, and the join still has to be confirmed by a specialist and often by the physical pieces⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGS748FDC/electronic-babylonian-literature-playing-with-the-source-of). ## Answers 2 [**Image-fed matching reaches the untransliterated fragments** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEEAFRT3SF6/image-fed-matching-reaches-the-untransliterated-fragments) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible [**Matching works, but only on transliterated fragments** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEEAA05JR5T/matching-works-but-only-on-transliterated-fragments) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible ## Next steps 1 1 Ask eBL for a precision/recall figure of the n-gram matcher against pre-2018 joins. ~2 h **—** not judged Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 2023[Electronic Babylonian Library project team: the matcher works on transliterations: three Maqlû manuscripts were found among about 27,000 transliterated fragments…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGTTRNMP2/ai-is-helping-us-read-ancient-mesopotamian-literature)For: Matching works, but only on transliterated fragments 1. 2024[Fabian Simonjetz et al.: the matcher works on transliterations: three Maqlû manuscripts were found among about 27,000 transliterated fragments…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGT58C4F7/reconstruction-of-cuneiform-literary-texts-as-text-matching)For: Matching works, but only on transliterated fragments 1. 2026[Wentao Che et al.: a 2026 pipeline links detected signs to text structure by n-gram similarity across 87,668 eBL fragments, the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGCC49XMN/automated-sign-detection-across-the-electronic-babylonian)For: Image-fed matching reaches the untransliterated fragments 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DEE9K0P47XS/session-1-the-unread-cuneiform-seeded-corpus-readings-and) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3VBZYJY/can-the-broken-tablets-of-babylonian-literature-be%23add-source) Where it fits Unread cuneiform: half a million tablets and the limits of Sumerian **Can the broken tablets of Babylonian literature be reassembled by automated matching of fragments?** Key question · you're here [ Ask a question under this one ]