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
Ri (cuneiform) Ri (cuneiform) [[File:B142ellst.png|437px|left|thumb|Cuneiform sign for ri, re, dal, tal, ṭal, and as [[sumerogram]] RI, (sign uses from the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]").]] [[File:Amarna letter mp3h8878.jpg|thumb|right|315px|[[Amarna letter EA 365]]-("Reverse"), [[Biridiya]] to Pharaoh, ""Furnishing [[Corvée]] Workers"", with usage of cuneiform re in the spelling of "erēsu", "to cultivate" ([[te (cuneiform)|te]]-[[ir (cuneiform)|er]]-ri-šu-[[na (cuneiform)|na]]), 3rd character, 6th line from top (line 365:20). <br>(high resolution, expandible photo)]] The [[cuneiform]] Ri sign, or Re, is found in both the 14th-century BC [[Amarna letters]] and the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]"; it is in the top 25 most used cuneiform signs (Buccellati, 1979) for "ri", or "re", but has other