Copying from Wooden Originals? Investigating the Materiality and Rationale for Holes in the Tablets from the Library of Ashurbanipal

This study investigates the material characteristics and potential functions of the holes found on Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablets from the Library of Ashurbanipal. Often referred to as ‘firing holes’, their exact purpose has remained speculative in scholarship. By analyzing a sample of tablets with colophons, this research explores the size, shape, and distribution of these holes on the surface. We suggest that different tools were used to create holes of varying sizes, with larger holes typically found on the edges and smaller ones on the tablet’s surface. The study proposes that these holes may have been added after the writing process and could represent a visual echo of holes present on wooden writing boards, which were possibly used as templates for the clay tablets. This hypothesis opens new avenues for understanding the interplay between different writing media in Assyrian scribal practices and raises questions about the production processes of the tablets in the Library of Ashurbanipal.