ABSTRACT
The naditus were a very special group or institution of women, dedicated to the sun god Samas, who lived in the city of Sippar in northern Babylonia. They were housed within a walled area, the gagum ('the Locked House') in the temple of Samas. Naditu possibly means the 'fallow' or 'barren' one. This institution is peculiar to the Old Babylonian period and is recorded from c. 1880-1550 BC. It had special links with the rulers of the 1st Babylonian dynasty and its heyday was under Hammurapi and his son Samsuiluna, i.e. 1792-1712 BC.
