Article

The Grave of a puhu-teppu from Haft Tappeh

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Abstract

During the most recent excavation season at Haft Tappeh a grave of the Middle Elamite period was found situated in a room of a structure close to the administrative building in the south of the city. The grave contained several vessels, a little bronze cup, golden and stone beads of a necklace, two little bronze rings as well as three silver hairpins and two cylinder seals placed close to the deceased in the sarcophagus. Both seals bear Akkadian inscriptions that mention Ginadu with the title puhu-teppu of the king Insusinak-sar-ilani as the proprietor of the seals. The meaning of puhu-teppu is not exactly clear. It is suggested to mean Schreiberlehrling by AHw and apprentice scribe (?) by CAD. The seal inscriptions from the grave at Haft Tappeh show that puhu-teppu had a high ranking position and was possibly appointed directly by the king. It therefore seems unlikely that puhu-teppu was a simple apprentice scribe. In the letter HT 2 from Haft Tappeh a puhu teppu is also mentioned together with the guards and the doorkeeper as responsible officials who were informed by letter regarding the transport of a chariot made partly of gold. The function of puhu-teppu could be to register the movement of the chariot. In fact puhu-teppu can be considered as the official archivist who listed the inventory of the storerooms and was responsible for it. The grave with the seals of Ginadu as puhu-teppu in the house close to the administrative building leads to the assumption that Ginadu worked there in the time of Insusinak-sar-ilani and most likely was responsible for the valuable objects and registration of the inventory of the stores of the administrative building excavated in the southern part of the city.

How to Cite:

Mofidi-Nasrabadi, B., (2011) “The Grave of a puhu-teppu from Haft Tappeh”, Akkadica 132(2), 151–161. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/akkadica.99608

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