A 4,000 year-old customer complaint… in the original cuneiform.

Some things never change: Linguists have translated a clay cuneiform tablet from the city of Ur, circa 1750BCE.

The tablet is from a copper buyer named Nanni to the seller, Ea-nasir, complaining that the ingots were inferior, and that Ea-nasir was rude.

“What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt?” it reads, in part. “How have you treated me for that copper? … It is now up to you to restore (my money) to me in full.”

Sounds very familiar, across the gulf of time. 🙂

More info:

• This Is The Oldest Customer Complaint In History (And It’s Great)

• Customer service in ancient Mesopotamia

• British Museum digtal calalog

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