University of Mosul
college of Archaeology
Department of Ancient Iraqi languages
Abstract
Cuneiform signs overburdened (decorated) with gunû elements , It is one of the types of complex signs that were derived from simple shapes after adding vertical, horizontal, or inclined cuneiform elements inside or outside the body of the sign. Two types of these signs have been distinguished. The first type is secondary signs in which the elements of gunû may appear or disappear, and they do not in any way affect the meaning or sound of the sign, and the second type is the main signs in which the elements of gun appear constantly and are considered independent signs and retain symbolic and phonetic values often associated with the simple sign from which they are derived. This research included providing a brief definition of the term gunû and its historical origin, as well as a statement of the purpose of forming these signs, And the division of its types in terms of adding gunû elements to it into minor signs, and main signs, a section of which is described in the lexicons with name gunû, while the other section was distinguished by the form of gunû added to the sign, and we concluded all that came in this research with the most important results that we reached.