Title: Amarna Tablet

 

Dimensions (cm): 15.5x11.5x1.5

 

Artist: Erica-Jane Miller

 

Editor:  Hannah Martin-Brown

 

Region: Middle East

 

Description:

Mitannian origins, circa 1370BC-1350BC. Found at Tell el-Amarna in 1887 by local farmers. Akkadian cuneiform engraving in clay with Egypt hieroglyphics written on tablet in ink. Cuneiform translates to greetings to the royal family and descriptions of gifts sent to the Egyptian Pharaoh. The ink hieroglyphics translate to “Year 36”, possibly an archive date. Made by shaping air drying clay and carving cuneiform script whilst still wet using a sharp wooden stick. Clay is coloured using acrylic paint to a more natural hue, using acrylic paint and a paintbrush for the black hieroglyphics.