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A small tablet with an oracular question concerning the wintering of the royal couple in Ankuwa. The question covers both sides of the tablet, so the answer was not included in this report. The tablet has been catalogued as a letter, although it lacks the fundamental characteristics of a letter, such as an address formula and an epistolary frame to the content of the message. Thus, it is rather a brief individual oracle report.
The tablet ends with the isolated numeral “two” written in the centre of the last line. According to Hout Th.P.J. van den 2001c, 434, these numbers could be meant as aids for those who would later compile individual oracular reports into larger tablets, compendia of a set of questions on the same matter – in this case, the wintering of the king and queen at a certain location (see e.g. the well preserved KUB 5.4, CTH 563). A notable parallel is the small tablet HKM 115, likewise of oracular content (KIN), and concluded with a numeral “two” in its last line.
For a similar usage, see possibly also the tiny tablet KuT 39 (KuSa I/1.29), where the numeral “22” is found – although this is no oracle report.
For the possibility that similar short oracle reports were “attached” to letters proper, see the edition of a similar text, KBo 18.142 (CTH 581.12).
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