Cuneiform to left-to-right in horizontal rows (rotating all of the pictographs 90° counter-clockwise in the process) and a new wedge-tipped stylus was introduced which was pushed into the clay, producing wedge-shaped ("cuneiform") signs; these two developments made writing quicker and easier. By adjusting the relative position of the tablet to the stylus, the writer could use a single tool to make a variety of impressions. Cuneiform tablets could be fired in kilns to bake them hard, and so provide a permanent record, or they could be left moist and recycled, if permanence was not needed. Many of the clay tablets found
Aš (cuneiform) Aš (cuneiform) [[File:B001ellst.png|437px|left|thumb|Cuneiform sign for aš, dil, ina, ṭel, and as [[sumerogram]] AŠ, (sign uses from the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]").]] [[File:Louvres-antiquites-moyen-orient-p1020178.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Amarna letter 362]]-("Reverse"), [[Rib-Hadda]] to Pharaoh, with usage of cuneiform "aš" in the spelling of "šapāru", "to send in writing)" (two locations in letter, line 18 obverse, line 52 reverse). <br>(high resolution, expandible photo) ]] The [[cuneiform]] Aš sign, is found in both the 14th century BC [[Amarna letters]] and the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]]. In the Epic, it has the following meanings, besides "aš": Some special considerations for a single "cuneiform sign" are as follows. In [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], the space