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
Ne (cuneiform) Ne (cuneiform) [[File:B313ellst.png|437px|left|thumb|Cuneiform sign for bil-(=bí), kúm, ne, pil, ṭè, and as [[sumerogram]]s BIL, and NE, (sign uses from the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]").]] [[File:BM 29785 EA 9 Reverse.jpg|thumb|right|315px|[[Amarna letter EA 9]]-("Reverse"), [[Tushratta]] to Pharaoh, with usage of cuneiform "bil" in the spelling of "qabû", "to say, tell", Paragraph 1 (tablet obverse). <br>(high resolution, expandible photo, and last line, 3rd sign from left — [[bi (cuneiform)|bi]]), a common multi-use, multi-syllabic sign]] The [[cuneiform]] Ne sign, is found in both the 14th century BC [[Amarna letters]] and the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]". In the Amarna letters, it is especially used in the opening,