A 3" x 2" Mesopotamian Tablet

A 3" x 2" Mesopotamian tablet contained an enciphered formula for making pottery glaze. Cuneiform signs were used in the least common syllabic values to attempt to hide secrets of the formula. About Cuneiform: Pictograms, or drawings representing actual things, were the basis for cuneiform writing. Early pictograms resembled the objects they represented, but through repeated use over time they began to look simpler, even abstract. These marks eventually became wedge-shaped ("cuneiform"), and could convey sounds or abstract concepts.