9. The eclipse

One avenue to the absolute dating of the Eponym List begins with a report of a solar eclipse in the year of eponym Bur-Saggile. His name is preserved on four of the Eponym List tablets, and two of the Lists mention the eclipse. Hand copies of the text indicate his name is legible on the four tablets.

The significance of the eclipse report was first noted in the middle of the 19th century, and a date for the eclipse was soon worked out.