Tablet and record
A cuneiform tablet can carry signs on obverse, reverse and edges, with rulings, seal impressions and breaks. CDLI records artifact identifiers, collection data, publications, provenience where known and often images or transliterations. Begin from a particular artifact record, not a phrase found in a search result. Check the object's shape and which surfaces were recorded; the reading order may depend on turning the tablet.
The Oracc ATF primer distinguishes a wholly missing sign in brackets, a damaged sign flagged with # and an uncertain identification flagged with ?. Those marks answer different physical questions. A transliteration assigns conventional values to wedge groups; it is not a photograph of the wedges. An English translation adds another layer of grammatical and lexical decisions.
A tablet workflow
Choose one CDLI artifact with a visible image and a linked edition. Write its identifier, collection number, provenance status, period as given, and the surfaces represented. Trace one published line to its image. If one sign is damaged, describe the trace, copy the edition's mark, then explain the proposed value without upgrading it to certainty. Compare another edition if the record cites one.
Practice: make a small diagram with obverse, reverse and edge labels. Add the first and last line numbers of each recorded surface. Leave a surface blank if the edition does not document it; do not invent a continuous text across a broken edge.
Modern-language examples on this page clarify a linguistic pattern. They do not establish unattested sounds or forms for an ancient language. Follow the cited sources below and keep editorial readings separate from the surviving trace.