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Thin End of the Wedge explores life in the ancient Middle East. There are many wonderful stories we can tell about those people, their communities, the gritty reality of their lives, their hopes, fears and beliefs. We can do that through the objects they left behind and the cities where they once lived. Our focus is on the cultures that used cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) writing, so mostly on ancient Iraq and nearby regions from about 3000 BC to about 100 AD. Thin End of the Wedge brings you expert insights and the latest research in clear and simple language. What do we know? How do we know anything? And why is what we know always changing? Why is any of this important today? We won’t talk to you like you’re stupid. But you won’t need any special training to understand what we’re talking about. This is an independent production by me as an individual. It is not supported by my employer or any other organisation I am involved with, and the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect theirs.
81 Episodes
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Rocío and Nathan take us to Babylon in the Late Babylonian period for a remarkable public ritual. The divine love lyrics are one of the most surprising literary survivals from antiquity. Sarpanitu discovers that Marduk has been sleeping with Ishtar. The two goddesses become embroiled in a very public shouting match, throwing insults at each other. What was this ritual and what did it mean? 3:56 introduction to the Divine Love Lyrics 5:42 one text, a series, or somethin...
Mustafa discusses his project to document the condition of the gates of Nineveh, and to plan the sustainable conservation and management. What do the gates mean to Mosulis? What reconstruction work has taken place, what condition are the gates in now, and what might they look like in the future? 2:39 the Gates of Nineveh project 4:46 historic reconstructions 5:40 significance 7:19 current condition 9:51 archaeological park 13:45 displaying finds from ...
Augusta talks about the new excavations at Nippur. What are the goals of the new work, and how does she manage the long history of excavations at the site? What are the long term plans for the site? She reveals the first results, including news about the city walls, a huge Neo-Babylonian villa, and a Parthian cemetery. She reflects on how the archaeological situation has changed since she was a student. And she discusses plans for sharing the results of the work. 3:13 why Nippur? 5:26 project...
Tina explains what animal teeth and bones can tell us about life in ancient Iraq. What did people eat? And what did those animals eat? How were flocks and herds managed? What does this tell us about status and economy? We learn what new strands of evidence are provided by scientific analyses. 3:12 about zooarchaeology 4:17 state of play 7:33 cow teeth and society 10:35 why the difference between texts and zooarchaeology? 14:43 feeding cattle 19:02 animal movement and management 26:13 ho...
Moudhy talks about the different kinds of outreach work she has done. How does she excite interest in material that is very unfamiliar for most people? What works well? She discusses the different audiences and formats, the various approaches and possibilities. 2:18 why Mesopotamia? 4:45 attracting interest 8:11 overcoming the unfamiliar 11:19 reliable history versus pseudo-history 13:10 radio and podcasts 17:06 scale and detail 19:47 different ...
The Mosul region is the focus of renewed activity by local and foreign teams. Archaeology there inevitably works differently now. Michael and John talk about the Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program, including conservation and reconstruction work, excavation, and capacity building. 2:34Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program 3:39 Nimrud and Nineveh 8:29why those sites? Who sets the goals? 12:56exhibition and online resources 13:47conservation and reconstruction 18:08long term commitment 20:...
Zoltán and Erika introduce us to their exhibition about gods and demons. This exhibition, and the extensive catalogue that accompanies it, are major landmarks in Hungarian assyriology. What is it about, how did it become a reality, and what impact will it have? 2:40 the exhibition 8:11 key objects 10:47 why this topic, and why now? 12:56 reaction 15:15 preparing an exhibition 21:19 about the displays 23:19 significance for Hungary 24:52 the museum's own collection 27:45 favourite object htt...
Christopher discusses new ideas around the murder of King Sennacherib. Who really killed him and why? Was it a coup? Where was Esarhaddon and why wasn't he in Nineveh? [Much of this first section of the episode was published as part of Episode 71. 8:03-10:30 is not found there. And everything from 25:19 is also new] Next he addresses the question of how the kings of this dynasty ran their empire. What does social network analysis reveal about how they coped with information flow? Who wa...
This is a special episode presenting the prize-winning research of three early career scholars: William McGrath, Alessia Pilloni, and Christopher Jones. What prizes did they win, and what was their research about? We hear about the latest news from Isin II period history, astrology in the Late Babylonian period, and a military coup in the Neo-Assyrian period. 1:24 William McGrath 2:10 dissertation 6:08 key conclusions 9:10 publication plans 10:48 what's next? 13:45 Alessia Pillon...
This episode was recorded live at the Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale conference held in Helsinki in July 2024. Simo Parpola reflects on his long and momentous career. He explains how he became an assyriologist, and how he came to focus on the Assyrians. A key collaboration led to one of the most significant projects in assyriological history. What was it like to study large groups of tablets in the days before bulk digitisation? How did they identify so many joins remotely? Si...
Carolyne introduces us to the study of ancient plant remains, especially carpology--the study of seeds, fruits, and flowers. In her case study she takes us to the site of Logardan in the Kurdish region, and explains what she could learn from the remains found in kilns. We discuss the role and uses of dung. 2:02 archaeobotany 4:08 how to train 5:09 site of Logardan 6:37 role of archaeobotany 9:47 comparison with results from other fields 12:30 main results from Logardan 14:00 why use dung? 18...
Witold discusses the labour market under Hammurabi of Babylon. What kind of work could you get, and what would you be paid in exchange? Who would be looking for employment, who would take them on, and who held the balance of power? 1:45 how we know about getting a job 2:54 who are the job seekers? 3:48 how common was it? 4:58 what jobs are there beyond harvest time? 6:17 what kind of people are working? 8:19 how good were conditions? 11:12 different jobs for men and women? 13:03 do workers...
Amy discusses the multi-sensory presence of the queens of Assyria. What was queenly dress and what meaning did each part of it convey? How does the evidence from art compare to what we learn from archaeology? Can we identify personal choice? She also talks about what it's like to wear queenly clothes, and what experimental archaeology can tell us. 2:45 sources for textiles 5:13 experimental archaeology 6:37 tombs of the queens 8:35 art versus archaeology 9:50 queenly dress 14:28 symbo...
Rune, Seraina, and Gustav discuss their recently completed project on geomapping cuneiform. Where were inscriptions found and where are they now? How many tablets are there? What counts as a tablet anyway? They reveal the challenges of integrating datasets, and explore the potential opened up by knowing where inscriptions really come from. 4:18 GLoW project 7:44 data collection 10:51 how many tablets are there? 13:50 provenance problems 17:06 why 'where' matters 20:50 what distribution tell...
Omar discusses the importance of studying gender as part of assyriology. What are the big themes now, and how did we get here? He focuses on two areas of special interest: masculinity, and eunuchism. What can we expect from the conference on gender studies (GeMANE) hosted in Malta this April? And what is the context of assyriology in Malta? 0:37 Introducing Ellie 2:56 the importance of studying gender 5:39 current trends 8:59 gender beyond only women 11:54 masculinities 16:21 eunuchs 2...
The site of Ur is easily one of the most important in Iraq. In this interview, originally recorded in late 2021, we hear from the person responsible for managing that site. Ali talks about Ur's significance, and its role in local life. What are the plans for the development of this key site? 4:18 introducing Lina 7:02 importance of Ur 7:34 what tourists can see 8:39 information for visitors 9:12 what Ur means to Iraqis 10:15 excavations 11:04 site conservation 11:49 future of tourism 12:19 ...
Enrique introduces us to a major new resource in digital assyriology: The electronic Babylonian Library. What does it offer and what are its aims? He discusses the issues facing the field and the potential of digital tools, including AI, to help solve them. To what extent can Babylonian literature be reconstructed now, and what we can do with it? 2:08 what is the eBL? 4:59 how much Babylonian literature do we have? 6:16 the non-literary fragments 10:27 why launch now? 11:50 what's the react...
At the Rencontre in Leiden this summer, the IAA awarded its annual prizes celebrating the excellence of early career scholars. There were prizes for the best dissertation, best first article, and a research subsidy. I tracked down the prize winners to ask them about their work. 2:17 Clélia Paladre 2:57 thesis on Iranian glyptic 4:38 the Proto-Elamite phenomenon 6:14 working at the Louvre 7:31 Tomoki Kitazumi 8:29 translating in the Hittite empire 11:45 interpreters in the ancient Nea...
Shigeo shares the results of fieldwork at a site that was once a key city on the edges of the Assyrian empire. How do we know which city it was? He describes the key finds, and interprets their significance. What can we learn from a necklet? 2:22 Yasin Tepe 4:54 goals 6:38 identification as Dur-Ashur 9:12 results 12:44 who lived there? 13:44 inscribed necklet of a slave 18:49 future work 23:20 Tsukuba Shigeo's Academia Shigeo's ResearchGate Music by Ruba Hillawi Website: http://wedgepod....
Susanne pulls back the curtain on how exhibitions are made. She explains how the topic was chosen, and how that vision is translated into reality. How long does it take, how many people are involved, and just what needs to be done? 2:17 about Back to School 3:27 goals 5:37 what's on show? 7:16 star pieces 10:10 recreating an ancient school 11:05 how to display tablets 17:06 why school and why now? 19:10 return to Nippur and the Nippur Tablet Pr...
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