When a vast library of texts amassed by Mesopotamian King Ashurbanipal was burned to the ground about 2700 years ago, the ...

The finds, which also include dozens of clay sealings, contain details of a metric system used to measure resources, as well ...

Researchers have identified an extensive Mesopotamian canal network that supplied ancient farms in the Eridu region with ...

A sprawling, hidden network of ancient irrigation canals has been uncovered near the ancient city of Eridu in southern Mesopotamia. Under the leadership of geoarchaeologist Jaafar Jotheri, researchers ...

Joshua Hammer’s engaging new book, “The Mesopotamian Riddle,” chronicles the 1857 “race to decipher the world’s oldest writing.” There was no money on offer, but the challenge was a ...

This discovery provides an exceptionally clear window into the agricultural practices of early Mesopotamian farmers. Between the sixth century BC and the early first millennium BC, the farmers ...

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Joshua Hammer’s book about cuneiform, a writing system that defined the pre-Hellenic world as much as its monuments did, is a ...