When a team of Victorian archaeologists dug into a grassy hill in Iraq, they chanced upon the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, seventh century BCE ruler of Mesopotamia. Buried for millennia the unearthed tablets were written in cuneiform, the first written language in the world.
Assyriologist Selena Wisnom takes us on an immersive tour of this extraordinary library, bringing ancient Mesopotamia – home to advanced mathematics, astronomy and banking, law and literature – and its people to life. Through it, we encounter a world of astonishing richness, complexity and sophistication.
Illustrated Talk
Tickets £10.50/£8.50
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“Illuminates an extraordinary survival - Ashurbanipal’s library preserved by accident a wealth of knowledge from the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia – texts which still speak to us today’ – Richard Ovenden
“The past is not distant, dust-covered, and disconnected from us, but a vibrant world in which we can discover a wealth of ideas and sometimes even recognize parts of ourselves” – Céline Debourse, author of Of Priests and Kings
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