Content
The main content of Plimpton 322 is a table of numbers, with four columns and fifteen rows, in Babylonian sexagesimal notation. The fourth column is just a row number, in order from 1 to 15. The second and third columns are completely visible in the surviving tablet. However, the edge of the first column has been broken off, and there are two consistent extrapolations for what the missing digits could be; these interpretations differ only in whether or not each number starts with an additional digit equal to 1. With the differing extrapolations shown in parentheses, these numbers are:
| (1:)59:00:15 | 1:59 | 2:49 | 1 |
| (1:)56:56:58:14:50:06:15 | 56:07 | 1:20:25 | 2 |
| (1:)55:07:41:15:33:45 | 1:16:41 | 1:50:49 | 3 |
| (1:)53:10:29:32:52:16 | 3:31:49 | 5:09:01 | 4 |
| (1:)48:54:01:40 | 1:05 | 1:37 | 5 |
| (1:)47:06:41:40 | 5:19 | 8:01 | 6 |
| (1:)43:11:56:28:26:40 | 38:11 | 59:01 | 7 |
| (1:)41:33:45:14:03:45 | 13:19 | 20:49 | 8 |
| (1:)38:33:36:36 | 8:01 | 12:49 | 9 |
| (1:)35:10:02:28:27:24:26 | 1:22:41 | 2:16:01 | 10 |
| (1:)33:45 | 45 | 1:15 | 11 |
| (1:)29:21:54:02:15 | 27:59 | 48:49 | 12 |
| (1:)27:00:03:45 | 2:41 | 4:49 | 13 |
| (1:)25:48:51:35:06:40 | 29:31 | 53:49 | 14 |
| (1:)23:13:46:40 | 56 | 1:46 | 15 |
It is possible that additional columns were present in the broken-off part of the tablet to the left of these columns. Conversion of these numbers from sexagesimal to decimal raises additional ambiguities, as the Babylonian sexagesimal notation did not specify the power of the initial digit of each number.
Read more about this topic: Plimpton 322
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