A Mesopotamian clay tablet displaying pictographic writing on the obverse and reverse. The text inscribed is possibly administrative in nature, with stylised depictions of barley. There are circular engravings which are thought to be numerical symbols. People living in Mesopotamia created these tablets to record and communicate different types of information. The tablet has also received modern repair, with fine seams and glue residue still visible. Proto-cuneiform was one of the earliest forms of writing documented firstly developed in Mesopotamia around the late 4th Millennium BC, by the Uruk civilisation. Proto-cuneiform consisted of simple drawings, symbols, images or pictographs which were carved in the clay with a pointed implement. Circles were used as a form of numerical symbols. Written language further developed in the region, evolving into more abstract forms known as cuneiform. Measurements: L 12.7cm x W 9.2cm Provenance: From a private London collection, pre-1990.