Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions
Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions is a 1918, Sumerian linguistics and mythology book written by George Aaron Barton.
It was first published by Yale University Press in the United States and deals with commentary and translations of twelve cuneiform, Sumerian myths and texts discovered by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology excavations at the temple library at Nippur. Many of the texts are extremely archaic, especially the Barton Cylinder, which Samuel Noah Kramer suggested may date as early as 2500 BC. A more modern dating by Joan Goodnick Westenholz has suggested the cylinder dates to around 2400 BC.
Contents
Some of the myths contained in the book are shown below:| Modern title | Museum number | Barton's title |
| Debate between sheep and grain | 14,005 | A Creation Myth |
| Barton Cylinder | 8,383 | The oldest religious text from Babylonia |
| Enlil and Ninlil | 9,205 | Enlil and Ninlil |
| Self-praise of Shulgi | 11,065 | A hymn to Dungi |
| Old Babylonian oracle | 8,322 | An Old Babylonian oracle |
| Kesh temple hymn | 8,384 | Fragment of the so-called "Liturgy to Nintud" |
| Debate between Winter and Summer | 8,310 | Hymn to Ibbi-Sin |
| Hymn to Enlil | 8,317 | An excerpt from an exorcism |
| Lament for Ur | 19,751, 2,204, 2,270 & 2,302 | A prayer for the city of Ur |