The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), in its second edition, is a comprehensive digital project aimed at compiling, translating, and publishing the extensive body of Sumerian literature. This literature, dating back to around 2500 BCE, includes a vast array of poetic forms such as hymns, laments, prayers, fables, and proverbs, largely reconstructed from thousands of fragmented clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform.
The ETCSL project, initiated as a pilot in 1997 with funding from the University of Oxford, aimed to establish the corpus’s extent and develop technical publication procedures. It expanded significantly with additional funding, facilitating the publication of over 350 compositions with translations and bibliographies. The project’s broader objective was to make this sophisticated ancient literature accessible to scholars across various fields and the general public, highlighting its historical influence on subsequent civilizations and literatures.
Although funding for the ETCSL ended in 2006, the project’s outputs remain a critical resource for understanding Sumerian literature and its legacy.