When you lay the foundations of a glass-making kiln, you search repeatedly for a suitable day during a favorable month, so that you may lay the foundations of the kiln. As soon as you complete the construction of the kiln, in the house of the kiln ... you set down Kubu demons in order that an outsider or stranger cannot enter; one who is impure cannot cross their Kubu demons' presence. You will constantly scatter aromatics offerings in their presence.

On the day that you set down "glass" lit: "stone" within the kiln, you make a sheep sacrifice in the presence of the Kubu demons, and you set down a censer with juniper, you pour honey over it. You then ignite a fire at the base of the kiln. You may now set down the "glass" within the kiln. The persons that you bring close to the kiln ... must be purified, only then can you allow them to sit near and overlook the kiln.

You burn various wooden logs at the base of the kiln including: thick logs of poplar that are stripped, and quru-wood containing no knots, bound up with apu-straps; these logs are to be cut during the month of Abu; these are the various logs that should go beneath your kiln.

If you want to make "lapis lazuli" zagindurû-glass: you grind separately 10 minas of immanakku-stone, 15 mana of salicornia ashes, and 1 2/3 mana of "white plant." You mix them together. You set the glass into the cold kiln with four openings and arrange it between the openings. You burn a good, smokeless fire. You remove the "glass" as soon as it begins to turn white.

You cool it off, and grind it down again. You then collect it within a clean dabtu-crucible, you place the "glass" into a cold kiln chamber, and burn a good and smokeless fire until ...; you pour it onto a fire brick; its name is "lapis lazuli".

You put 10 minas of "slow copper" into a clean dabtu-crubible. You place it in a hot chamber kiln, and you close the door of the kiln. You burn a strong, smokeless fire until the "slow copper" glows red. You crush and grind finely 10 minas of zukû-glass. You open the door of the kiln and throw the fritted zukû-glass onto the "slow copper," until the zukû-glass atop the "slow copper" fuses, and the "slow copper" settles at the bottom of the "glass" mixture. You stir the mixture with a rake once, twice, and thrice until ... the "slow copper" ...

As soon as it glows yellow, you .... and once it has become yellow .... and when the "glass" is solid ...., you pour it out into a new dabtu-crucible ... and that which comes out is: lapis lazuli

Copy of an ancient tablet

If you want to make "lapis lazuli" zagindurû-glass: you grind separately 10 minas of immanakku-stone and 12 minas of salicornia. You mix these ingredients together, and set down the mixture into a cold kiln with four chambers, arranging it between the openings. You burn a good smokeless fire until your mixture glows red1. You take it out into the open air and you cool it off.

You grind the mixture once again. You then collect it within a clean dabtu-crucible, and you set it into a cold kiln chamber. You burn a good smokeless fire, and you cover it as soon as the mixture glows yellow. After the mixture has turned yellow, you transfer it onto the top of a fire brick. Its name is "lapis lazuli" zukû-glass.

broken lines

the base of ... you burn a good smokeless fire ... the fire from ... once your mixture ... in the kiln ... as soon as the glass turns red, you close the door of the kiln. After the "glass" has turned red you close the door of the kiln ... once it has turned yellow you stir it ... After the "glass" has turned yellow ... when the glass is solid .... you pour it out ... and that which emerges is: "lapis lazuli"

To x minas of tersitu you add ... minas of amnakku ....

If you want to make "fast bronze," you first set down, into a cold kiln 10 minas of ... you ignite a proper fire. You frit the ingredients; lit: "you cause them to turn white". You frit them once again using an old haragu-crucible. You pour water onto the mixture and on a favorable day you make an offering ... kiln chamber

In the dead of night, you ignite the kiln chamber ... you prepare? poplar ... At daybreak, you ignite the wood beneath the kiln. You then return once again to your haragu-crucible. You set down 1/3 mina of "fast copper" using a su'lu-tool. You set down the haragu-crucible ... you strengthen the fire ..., and you guard the fire until cracks begin to appear ... this is tersitu of reddish "lapis lazuli" uqnû-glass. You let it rest within the kiln. After you have continuosly rested "the fast bronze," you set it over a fire brick. You throw water over it. Procedure for reddish "lapis lazuli" uqnû-glass.

If you want to make bushu-glass, you mix together: 5 minas of tikmenu-ashes from salicornia "horns", 5 minas of immanakku, shekels of "male" anzahhu-glass, and 5 shekels of shells. You set it down into a cold kiln chamber and you ignite a good fire. You frit the mixture. You set it into an old haragu-crucible ... fine-quality bushu-glass.

broken

If you want to make "quartz" dushu-glass, you grind together: x minas of salicornia, 2 1/2 minas of ..., x minas of amnakku, together with 1/2 mina of ... You set the glass into the cold kiln with four openings and arrange it between the openings. You burn a good, smokeless fire until your mixture glows green. You control2 the color change using the fire. After, the mixture has turned green, you take it out and cool it off.

You grind the mixture once again. You collect it within a clean dabtu-crucible, and you set down the mixture into a cold kiln chamber. You burn a good smokeless fire until the glass glows yellow. You stir it once in your direction. You will see "someone" at the opening of the kiln. Once the glass is solid and takes on the appearance lit: face of quartz ... you add? x minas of amnakku, ... tuskû, ... minas of shells; these ingredients

If you want to make "turquoise" ashgigu-glass, you mix repeatedly: .... You collect these ingredients. You place the base of the teshu-mould onto the top of the ... within the utunu-kiln. You fire it for seven days, and close the utunu-kiln. On the tenth day, you open the kiln and take out the mixture.

For your second processing, you once again crush and grind: 1 kisal of anzahhu washed of shiktu-impurities, unspecified quantity of tuskû, 1 shekel of shells, 1 kisal of salicornia, adding these to 1 mina of molten lit: "heated glass. You stir it, and mix it, just as you had done previously. You keep a fire burning. You remove it; this is "fine-quality3 quartz" lit: green dushû-glass, which has been processed twice.

These are the ingredients, not missing even a single "hair of barley"4

To 20 minas of amnakku you add 1 biltu-unit of salicornia "horns," 2 minas of anzahhu, 10 shekels of shells, 1 mina of tuskû, 5 shekels of lulû; that which emerges is "quartz" dushû-glass.

If you want to make bushu-glass, tersitu of "lapis lazuli" uqnû-glass, or "quartz" dushû-glass; these are the complete procedures. Palace of Assurbanipal, king of the world, king of Ashur, who was bestowed with the widom of the gods Nabu and Tashmetu ... inspected ...