摘要：The following six tablets belong to the collection
of the Clinton Historical Society of Clinton, MA.1 A
newspaper clipping from the Clinton Daily Item dated
to July 2, 1913, says about the acquisition of the tablets
that they “were purchased from Dr. Edgar J. Banks of
Greenfi eld who has spent years in archaeological work
in the east and who was present when they were uncovered
so that their genuineness is undoubted.”2 Banks
directed a University of Chicago expedition to the site
of Adab in the early 1900’s. However, as Foster (2006:
55) noted, “his reputation for acquiring and smuggling
antiquities eventually aroused the Ottoman authorities,
[and] his project was terminated.” Nevertheless, Banks
“deal[t] in tablets and antiquities for the rest of this life,
selling small collections of tablets with highly enthusiastic
labels to schools, libraries, and seminars.” These
tablets here are yet another such example of Banks’
legacy.3
