Note 915 — Chapter XXXII · THE EARLIEST RECORDED CONTRACT OF FISHING
Reading edition
In the Neo-Babylonian period the word, which makes its first appearance in this contract, employed for net appears to have been salītu or lītu. The word is written sa-li-tum, and the first syllable (sa) may be either part of the word, or else the determinative riksu, which is written before things made of cordage. If the word be read salītu, it may perhaps be derived from the root, salû, to immerse. The rendering of the word as net is not quite certain, but, as will be seen from the translation of the text, the context points to this meaning. It is clearly some sort of tackle used by fishermen, and the most obvious meaning would be net.