Palace Cake
Cooking in Ancient Civilizations, Cathy K. Kaufman [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 32-22)

Records from Ur identify cakes 'for the palace' as containing 1 sila of butter, 1/3 sila of white cheese, 3 sila of first-quality dates, and 1/3 sila of raisins. A sila equaled a little more than 3 cups. This recipe has been scaled back by one-third to make the quantities more manageable, but it is extremely rich due to the large portions of butter.

Presumably there would be flour and other ingredients that a competent baker would infer to assemble this cake. The dried fruits will stick to the bottom of the pan; if you want to unmold the cake after it cools (rather than serve it from the pan), line the bottom of the pan with baker's parchment, or, to be more authentic, grape leaves. Invert the cake onto a plate and peel off the leaves...

3 cups dates, finely chopped
1/3 cup raisins
2 teaspoons ground fennel or aniseed
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and at room temperature
2 eggs, beaten together, at room temperature
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the dates, raisins, and spice and scatter in a 10-inch cake pan.

Press the cottage cheese through a strainer to break up the curds. Combine the cheese with the melted butter, eggs, and milk and slowly stir into the flour, moistening thoroughly. Pour the batter over the dried fruits and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.