Kettledrums in ancient Mesopotamia: Three lexicographical studies and the edition of a new Seleucid ritual text about the lilissu

Abstract

This paper is organized as a group of four brief studies of the Mesopotamian lilissu-kettledrum. The first three of them discuss little-explored expressions about its accessories or physical aspect: lit lilissi («stool of the lilissu»), (urudu)šen-ḫur-saĝ-ĝa2 (a Sumerian trans-ation of lilissu), and Ab-gal-gungunu (Ab2-gal-gun3-gun3-nu «Large, Multicolored Cow»), the proper name of a lilissu. The fourth note is an edition of BM 32979, a previously unpublished Seleucid cuneiform fragment that describes a procession involving a lilissu passing by some gates of the Esaĝil temple in Babylon.