In the Sargonid reports the kaskāsu is usually followed with the number of coils of the colon (ŠÀ.NIGIN = tīrānu),[[197]] a practice they share with extispicy reports of all other periods. In the OB and MB reports the number of coils of the colon is invariably 10-14; in the Sargonid reports 10-16, but higher numbers are also attested.[[198]] Unlike the OB practice, the Sargonid reports do not confine themselves to merely noting the number of the coils of the colon, but often cite protases from the omen texts, e.g. 139 r.17; 142 r.13; 181 r.2.
The survey above reflects the order of parts of the exta as they appear in extispicy reports of all periods. Other parts, such as the vertebrae, the rib cage (GAG.TI), etc., appear as standard observations in the Sargonid reports and queries, but less so in the OB and MB reports.[[199]]
197 This equation was first noted by Boissier in OLZ 11 (1908) 456ff.
198 For the ominous import of this fact, see Starr, HUCA 45 (1974) 23 and Rituals, p. 95.
199 See Starr Rituals, p. 68f.
Ivan Starr
Ivan Starr, 'The Coils of the Colon (tīrānu)', Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria, SAA 4. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1990; online contents: SAAo/SAA04 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa04/otherpartsandfeaturesoftheexta/thecoilsofthecolon/]