613
persons, the twofold penalty was imposed on each thief, as in JEN
334 (1 horse is stolen by a man and a woman; each of them is con-
demned to pay 2 horses) and EN 9/1 417 (three men steal 1 ox;
each is fined 2 oxen).8.3.3 Theft of Wood
Penalties for stealing wood were particularly severe: thirty-three yokes
and one ox (see HSS 9 8 and 12). No doubt, good quality wood—
such as that used for manufacturing yokes—was a highly valuable
item.8.3.4 Burglary and Aggravated Theft
Damages were set at one mina of silver, the equivalent of two oxen,
two asses, and twenty sheep. Aggravating circumstances were of var-
ious kinds. A recurrent case is that of burglary at night; for exam-
ple, the theft of wood from an orchard, dealt with in HSS 9 141.
In EN 9/1 405, three men stole straw from the palace granary at
night; each of them is condemned to pay two oxen, two asses, and
twenty sheep. In EN 9/1 437, the theft at night of two trees from
an orchard is punished with a double penalty: two minas of silver,
the equivalent of four oxen, four asses, and forty sheep. The stan-
dard penalty is also imposed on an adopted son who burgled his
adoptive father’s house and took various personal items (HSS 5 47),
a watchman on duty at the city gate who stole someone else’s char-
iot equipment ( JEN 358), and a person who stole from the granary
barley that had been entrusted to his care ( JEN 386).8.3.5 Breaking and Entering
The penalty was ten oxen. In JEN 359, for example, a person is
condemned for having entered someone else’s house without the
owner’s knowledge and permission. Where the offence involved break-
ing the seals on the doors in order to enter a building, the thief had
to return or refund the stolen property in addition to paying a penalty
of one ox; see, for example, JEN 342 (theft of straw from a sealed
barn) and JEN 381 (two men steal barley from a sealed granary;
the additional penalty consists of a pair of oxen). Note that in JEN
347 the penalty for stealing a sheep after entering a sheepfold(?) con-
sists of twelve sheep (the rule for theft of small animals) plus one ox.WESTBROOK_f14–564-617 8/27/03 12:28 PM Page 613