Cuneiform Numeric Sign Six U

It usually represents sixty, not the modern digit six.

The name “six U” counts six U elements. U is the cuneiform sign for ten, so the numeral’s conventional value is 60.

That is not always a full reading: cuneiform numerals were used for counting, measuring, and calculation. Check the neighboring signs and what is being counted; written place and the unit system can affect interpretation.

Why was 𒐑 made?

It was part of number-writing for accounts and calculation.

Cuneiform, a writing system made with wedge-shaped marks on clay, is first attested at Uruk, a city in Mesopotamia, around 3500–3200 BCE. Growing cities needed records of goods and quantities. This dates the writing system’s earliest attestation, not this exact sign.

The number-writing tradition developed across Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and other regions and languages. Old Babylonian scribes used base-60 notation for calculations; later Babylonian astronomers did too. That tradition is part of the history behind today’s 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle.

How do I type 𒐑?

Use a Unicode character picker in your editor.

Choose U+12411 in a Unicode-aware character picker; exact steps vary by editor. This is one encoded character, not six separate U signs. If it appears as a box or blank, your font or editor may lack cuneiform support. Different fonts may draw the same sign differently.