https://grpmcollections.org/Detail/objects/174121
This is a reproduction Amarna clay tablet to be used as a hands-on artifact. The ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hittites also wrote on tablets such as this made from clay. The Grand Rapids Public Museum has a collection of several authentic tablets, and this reproduction can be used to support learning about these fragile ancient artifacts. Although clay tablets varied in shape and dimension, this example represents a a common rectangular shape that is about five inches long. While the clay was still wet, the writer used a stylus to inscribe it with cuneiform characters. By writing on every surface in small characters, they could copy a substantial text on a single tablet. For longer texts the scribe used several tablets, linking them together by numbers and catchwords as is done in modern books. This example is a friendly letter from Tushratta to the King of Egypt.
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