Cuneiform Video: Old Babylonian Mathematics and Plimpton 322: A new perspective (introduction) — E8 Intelligence Research

**Discovery Report: Plimpton 322 (G.A. Plimpton Collection, Columbia University)** The tablet featured in the video is explicitly identified as **Plimpton 322**, the single most significant mathematical artifact from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800–1600 BCE). It resides in the **G.A. Plimpton Collection at Columbia University** (catalogued simply as **Plimpton 322**); it does not carry a British Museum (BM) or Yale Babylonian Collection (YBC) designation, though it is frequently compared to tablets in those collections (e.g., YBC 7289, BM 80209). **Mathematical Content & Base-60 Calculations** Plimpton 322 is a damaged clay tablet (approx. 13cm x 9cm x 2cm) inscribed with a sophisticated table of numbers in **sexagesimal (base-60) place-value notation**. The extant portion contains **15 rows and 4 columns** (the left edge is broken; scholars reconstruct a likely original 6 columns). * **Column IV:** Simple row index (1 to 15). * **Columns II & III:** Contain the **short side Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23795901
Primary Topic
Ancient Near East History
Type
preprint
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Cuneiform Video: Old Babylonian Mathematics and Plimpton 322: A new perspective (introduction) — E8 Intelligence Research

Andrew Stewart Caldin
9 links
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Ancient Near East History
preprint

Cuneiform Video: Old Babylonian Mathematics and Plimpton 322: A new perspective (introduction) — E8 Intelligence Research

Andrew Stewart Caldin
preprint en

Abstract

**Discovery Report: Plimpton 322 (G.A. Plimpton Collection, Columbia University)** The tablet featured in the video is explicitly identified as **Plimpton 322**, the single most significant mathematical artifact from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800–1600 BCE). It resides in the **G.A. Plimpton Collection at Columbia University** (catalogued simply as **Plimpton 322**); it does not carry a British Museum (BM) or Yale Babylonian Collection (YBC) designation, though it is frequently compared to tablets in those collections (e.g., YBC 7289, BM 80209). **Mathematical Content & Base-60 Calculations** Plimpton 322 is a damaged clay tablet (approx. 13cm x 9cm x 2cm) inscribed with a sophisticated table of numbers in **sexagesimal (base-60) place-value notation**. The extant portion contains **15 rows and 4 columns** (the left edge is broken; scholars reconstruct a likely original 6 columns). * **Column IV:** Simple row index (1 to 15). * **Columns II & III:** Contain the **short side Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Ancient Near East History
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Cuneiform Video: Old Babylonian Mathematics and Plimpton 322: A new perspective (introduction) — E8 Intelligence Research — Andrew Stewart Caldin · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS