z vi 19’ ]ub
(^) G320 C vi 36 (^) uš-ši-šú (^) OV – The pronominal suffix is written with
W 1 vi 21’ uš-ši-šu the sign ŠU in W.
G321 C vi 37 W 1 šár SV(1) – W lacks the cardinal number.^672
1 vi 22’ šár
G322 C vi 38 W ù OV – The conjunction is written with the sign U in W.
1 vi 23’ u
G323 C vi 38 pit-ru OV(l) – Possible difference in pronuncia-
W 1 vi 23’ pi-t[i-i]r tion.^673
Discussion of Variants
Orthographic Variants
The most common types of orthographic variations in the first millennium sources for
Gilgamesh XI are: the exchange of like-valued signs; the full syllabic writing of logo-
graphic forms; the writing of CV-VC with single CVC signs (and also V-CV as VCV
signs); and the writing of long word medial vowels with additional V signs.(^671) The sign in z is very damaged, but it is certainly not the sign RAT. The form in z is therefore counted as
an orthographic variant in the light of Rule 4. 672
The cardinal number is implied as W, which is restored: šār ālu šār kirātu šār issû, “a šār of city, a šār
of palm-grove, a šār of clay-pit ... .” C has the cardinal number written before each instance of the unit of
distance ŠÁR. 673
W lacks the final vowel on the noun √pitru, “one-half of a šār,” as well as preserving the medial vowel
that has been dropped in C. Presumably the lack of the case vowel in W allowed for the full writing of the
medial vowel. Such an emendation to the grammatical form that follows phonetic rules in W suggests that
the orthography reflects the underlying pronunciation.