This ceremonial disk was discovered by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley and it represents one of the most important finds related to the life of Enheduanna.
It was in several pieces when discovered. It has been restored into a calcite disk that is 25 cm across and 7 cm thick. The round shape is said to represent the moon and it has writing that confirms her link to the moon god.
Brad Hafford, the author of the Penn Museum article, Ur Digitization Project: Item of the Month, June 2012, describes it this way:
"The back of the disk bears an inscription, a dedication from Enheduanna to the moon god," Hafford writes. "This is what makes the object so important — we can identify the person who dedicated it and her position as high priestess. We can also match her name with other occurrences. Cylinder seals or seal impressions of her steward and her scribe have been found at Ur, for example, both mentioning her name."
Hafford reveals that she may have had a scribe doing the carving into cuneiform but still she is the creator of her work.
"We also have her writings, a collection of temple hymns that were passed down continuously, and in an Old Babylonian version, we have this note: 'the editor of the tablet is Enheduanna; my lord, what has been created no one else has created.' The word 'editor' is somewhat loose here; it is unclear whether she only gathered them together in one place, but there is a strong indication that she wrote or rewrote them as well. This statement has often been taken to place her as the first identifiable author in history; someone who composed, compiled, and took credit for her writings."