A breakthrough excavation in the residential quarters of Ancient Ur has unearthed a specialized administrative archive detailing maritime trade with Meluhha (the Indus Valley). The cuneiform tablets, dating to the late 3rd millennium BCE, served as a legal registry for weight-discrepancy disputes, specifically involving the import of teak and ebony timber. The ledgers record the specific density measurements of wood shipments as they were offloaded at the royal docks.
These texts provide the first definitive evidence of how Sumerian port authorities managed commercial fraud and quality control for bulk raw materials. One tablet notably mentions a "Scribe of the Timber Balance" who was tasked with verifying that the volume of wood received matched the weight standards of the shipping manifest. This high-resolution view of ancient trade logistics highlights the interconnected economic systems of the Bronze Age.