Assyrian - Akkadian Calendar Recreation (plaster cast). About 4 7/8 inches round. About 1800 BC. An Akkadian calendar tablet discovered in 1910 by Walter Andrae, who led the 1908 German expedition on the ancient site of Ashur. Ashur was originally a colony of Babylonia, and became the first capitol of Assyria. Calendar Tablets like this one and others discovered in Mari in Syria, make it clear that the Semitic Akkadians posessed a highly developed calendar by 1800BC, with allocations based on a 29 and 30 day lunar month. In the city of Ashur, the years bore the name of the official elected for the year ( some were selected by casting a lot or Purim), who was named the Limmu. Along with the regent's name seal, the Assyrian months are inscribed upon the tablet in Akkadian Cuneiform and named as: Sipim, Qarratim, Kanwarta, Telnatim, Kuzali, Allantim, Bel-Tiekallim, Sa Sarratim, Marmak Assur Sa Kinatim, Mahhurili, Ab Sarrani and Hubur.