The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-08-03
BOOKKEEPING 5000 B. c.
A jewelers. Guarantee In the Time
: OF Artaxerxcs I. from the
! Mounds of Nippur.


The leading article in the May is
sue of Ainslee's Magazine describes
the University of Pennsylvania ex-
cavations at Nippur. Tic article
reads in part:
"The mounds which are being exca-
waited at Nippur cover several distinct
cities, each one apparently having
been founded on the ruins of the city
which preceded it. 1t would seem
that when a temple had crumbled
away q new dynasty would level the
ruins by building a platform oven
them. On this the new temple woult.
be built. Five or more such platforms
have been discovered in Nippur, and
each one represents an interval OF
centuries. Each city In manner
became the cellar Of it's successor.
and one can imagine in the millen-
NUNS that passed some inhabitant
discovering q strange passageway be-
meath his house winding down to won.
derful caverns. Yet the platforms
seem to have kept the periods quite
separate. OF course, those objects
which are comparatively recent were
found not far below the surface of the
mounds Such, for instance, were the
business records of the firm of Mu-
rashu Sons of Nippur, concern which
thrived in the time of Artaxerxes l..
AGA years before Christ. These tnb
lets are, in sense, the oldest book
keeping records in the world. Prof
.Hilprecht, in telling how he found
them, says:
while exploring the central part OF
the northwestern ridge OF the ruins
of Nippur we discovered a room (5.a
x2.75 meters wide) about six meters
below the surface. Its ceiling ha1
collapsed long ago; its side walls. foi
the greater part, were In ruins, and
the clay floor was covered with eartl
and rubbish from above. A gang OF
trained Affej workmen was ordered
to remove the debris that flied the
room, when suddenly they noticed
numerous clay tablets lying on the
floor. A few hours later, the whole
room had been carefully searched
and cleaned. Seven hundred and thir-
ty tablets were gathered and safely
stored in the castle of our fortified
camp.
after critical examination of
the building itself, and of the condi.
ton, position and contents found
therein, it became evident that the
excavated room had been once used
as business archive of the apparent
ly wealthy and influential firm of
Murashu Sons of Nippur, who lived in
the time of ArtaXerxes l. and Darius
H., in whose reigns the documents
are dated.
"'These tablets are mortgages,
notes. legal contracts and agreements
of all kinds, and to read them as they
have been translated by Prof. Hill
prccht one would almost believe them
to be the work of modern notary.
Perhaps the most remarkable record
is the first one translated. 1t is a
guarantee that an emerald set in a
gold ring would not fall out for 20
years. 1t reads as follows:
'Bel-ad-iddinaa and Belshuna, sons OF
Bel and Hatin of Dazuzu, spoke unto
Bel-nadim-shumu, son of Murashu.
thus: AS concerns the gold ring set
with an emerald, we guarantee that
for 20 years the emerald will not fall
out of the gold ring. If the emerald
should fall ont of the gold ring before
the end of 20 years. Del-ad-iddina.
Belshuna and Hatin shall pay unto
Bel-natlin-shumu an indemnity of ten
mana of silver
This is o sample of the remark
able documents found in the archive
room, which in our day would have
been n vault or On iron safe. Murashu
Sons must have carried on an extern
sive business, which lasted over 50
years, during which time they acted
as agents for the wealthy Persians
who did not care to attend in person
to their large estates in the hot and
malarious Babylonian country, but
leased their fields and property to
the firm and lived from their reyen-
ues in the cities with their manifold
luxuries and attractions. All this is
quite evident from the many con-
tracts, leases, bills of sale of land,
orchards, slaves, oxen, etc. taken
from the debris of that ancient room"