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 was influential and why did that change?

2:09 prize winner
3:09 regicide
8:04 motives for murder
10:21 what's new?
15:21 who was involved?
19:13 a coup
22:24 propaganda
25:20 dissertation
27:54 how the empire functioned
32:30 new power structures
36:16 rise and fall of the scholars
38:38 why reform?
40:42 Ashurbanipal's relationship with scholars(hip)
46:10 where tablets were found
51:56 interpreting palace reliefs

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

 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 Pilloni
14:27 horoscopes
20:03 star signs
22:37 two technical terms identified
26:51 wider context

29:10 Christopher Jones
30:45 whodunnit
35:59 new evidence
41:54 purge
45:48 coup theory


Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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? Simo then discusses what has brought him satisfaction, and offers advice to younger scholars. He also explains what else he has dedicated his time to.

2:19 why assyriology?
4:38 why study the Assyrians?
7:49 origins of the project
12:24 early digital technology
13:33 joining fragments
17:17 looking back
19:04 dream finds
20:54 reaction to other projects
21:28 finding support for the project
23:32 combining traditional and innovative thinking

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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?
18:28 dung sources and their properties
20:37 plants as evidence for pottery production practices
23:04 where else are you working?
26:18 ideal situation for archaeobotany

Carolyne at Oxford
Carolyne's ResearchGate page
Carolyne's Academia page

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 replace you or work alongside you?
15:22 salary
20:04 about beer
21:03 alcohol content
22:45 balance of power
25:13 challenging rogue employers
26:39 discipline
29:31 child labour
33:45 new book

Witold's university page
Witold's Academia page

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 symbolism
17:03 individual choice
20:58 burialwear
21:54 craftsmen for the queen
22:44 smell, sound, and other senses
26:40 international dimension
28:39 new book
30:50 beauty standards
34:55 posture
37:41 colours

Amy’s university page
Amy’s Academia page
Amy’s personal website

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 tells us
24:20 why this hasn't been done before
27:06 integrating databases
33:56 what can we do now?

GLoW publications

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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
23:58 organising GeMANE
27:15 assyriology in Malta
29:38 public engagement

Omar's Academia
Omar's university page

GeMANE 6

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 cultural activities
13:41 the Pope's visit
16:42 future projects
18:10 website for Ur
19:00 how Ali became interested in archaeology
20:14 advice for students now
22:12 reasons for optimism
24:24 closing thoughts

This interview was originally recorded in September 2021, in Arabic. The interview was conducted by Lina Meerchyad and translated into English by her. The text is spoken by her and Terry Birkett.

New website for the site of Ur

Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 reaction / impact?
15:05 what's the significance of eBL for your research on literature?
18:14 what happens to eBL when the project funding ends?
19:11 how does eBL relate to other digital resources?
22:02 impact of AI
23:56 long term goals

eBL website

Enrique's university page
Enrique's Academia page


Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

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 Near East
13:56 German-Japanese interpreters colloquium

16:26 George Heath-Whyte
17:02 Neo-Babylonian patterns of life
21:05 naming practises project

23:31 Annarita Bonfanti
24:50 Urartian bowls project


Music by Ruba Hillawi

Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod