Thin End of the Wedge
by Jon Taylor
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 t
Episodes
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85. Shana Zaia: The end of empires
How did ancient cultures understand the end of empires? When was the end even considered a possibility, and did they see it coming? When was an end not an end, but a continuity? Shana explores political change through the perspective of the communities who lived through it. 2:09 why the end of...
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84. Gioele Zisa: The plant world
Gioele talks about the PlANET Project (Plants in the Ancient Near East Texts). How do texts and archaeobotanical evidence combine to explain the economic and functional roles of plants? And what symbolic values did they have? To what extent did they play active roles? 3:27 the PlANET project 5:23...
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83. David Kertai: The palaces of Assyria
David Kertai explains all about Neo-Assyrian palaces. What, and who, would we find there? How did they function? What do their design and decoration tell us about how they were used? How visible was the king? David's museum page Music by Ruba Hillawi Website: http://wedgepod.org YouTube:...
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82. IAA prize winners 2025
International Association for Assyriology awards prizes to early career scholars annually. The for 2025 awards went to: Best PhD dissertation in the field of Assyriology and Mesopotamian Archaeology: Adeline Reynaud, for “Les diagrammes mathématiques paléo-babyloniens : catalogue, propriétés...
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81. Lisa Wilhelmi: Bronze Age Diplomacy
Lisa Wilhelmi discusses the international system in the ancient Middlle East. The 14th century BC tablets from Amarna in Egypt, and tablets from the royal archives in Hattusa (Türkiye), reveal diplomatic exchanges between the great powers that ruled the region. What did they want from each other?...
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80. Ea-nasir: everyone's favourite copper merchant
Gina Konstantopoulos, Andrew Deloucas, Gabriel Moshenska, and Steven Garfinkle discuss internet favourite, Ea-nasir. What do we know about the Dilmun traders and their role in the supply of copper to the kingdoms of Babylonia? Who were his customers and what did they want his copper for? How did…
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79. Rocío Da Riva and Nathan Wasserman: Carnival in Babylon
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...
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78. Mustafa Faraj: The Gates of Nineveh
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?...
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77. Augusta McMahon: Excavations at Nippur
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…
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76. Tina Greenfield: Zooarchaeology in Mesopotamia
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.…
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75. Moudhy Al-Rashid: Engaging interest in Mesopotamia
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…
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74. Michael Danti and John MacGinnis. Nimrud: post-conflict archaeology in the heartland of Assyria
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…
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73. Zoltán Niederreiter, Erika Roboz: Kingdom of Gods and Demons
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…
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72. Christopher Jones: Court politics in the Neo-Assyrian empire
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…
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71. 2024 IAA Prize winners
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...
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70. Simo Parpola and the State Archives of Assyria project
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...
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69. Carolyne Douché: Carpology in the archaeology of ancient western Asia
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…
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68. Witold Tyborowski: Finding a job during Hammurabi's reign
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…
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67. Amy Gansell: Dressing Assyria's queens
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...
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66. Rune Rattenborg, Seraina Nett, Gustav Ryberg Smidt: Geomapping Cuneiform
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...
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65. Omar N'Shea: Masculinities in Mesopotamia
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...
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64. Ali Kadhem Ghanem: Managing the site of Ur
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...
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63: Enrique Jiménez: the electronic Babylonian Library
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…
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62. Prize-winning assyriology
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…
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61. Shigeo Yamada: Yasin Tepe: on the margins of empire
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...
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60. Susanne Paulus: Back to School in Babylonia
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…
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59. Louise Pryke: Ishtar then and now
Louise discusses Ishtar, one of the most enigmatic and fascinating deities of the ancient Middle East. What characteristics were assigned to her, and what stories were told about her? What happened when Ishtar met Gilgamesh? Louise also discusses the reception of Ishtar and Gilgamesh. What do...
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58. Looking back at RAI Leiden: on conferences, and catching up with guests
This special episode is a follow-up on the big annual conference. I offer some thoughts on what happened, and on how things might be in the future. As part of this, I catch up with three colleagues who have appeared as guests. Two were among the very first guests, who kindly helped me start the...
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57. Looking forward to Leiden
The organising team of RAI 68 Leiden introduce us to what we can expect from the conference. Why did they pick inequality as a topic? And how do they address inequality in the conference design? What role does live-streaming play in a modern Rencontre? 2:03 about RAI 68 Leiden 2:52 what's...
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56. Nicholas Reid: The Big House
Nicholas explains about imprisonment in ancient Iraq. Were there prisons? Who would be confined, how long for, and why? What would someone do in prison? And whose interest did confinement serve? 2:08 confinement in ancient Iraq 5:11 were there prisons? 7:45 why would you be confined? 8:53 for…
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55. Agnès Garcia-Ventura: The historiography of assyriology
Agnès discusses the history of the field, and why that matters now. Cast collections were an important part of Spain's early interest in ancient Iraq. How did these collections form? Who was interested? What were they interested in? And why? The history of the field has also impacted how we...
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54. Eckart Frahm: A new history of Assyria, the world's first empire
Eckart has just published a new history of Assyria. What sources can we draw on? How reliable are they? He talks about Assyria's remarkable royal women and how they were remembered. What did the Assyrians achieve and what is their legacy? 3:39 how have we heard of the Assyrians? 6:42 biblical and...
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53. Parsa Daneshmand: Consensus decision-making in divination
Parsa explains how decision-making took place in ancient Iraq. When you asked the assembly of gods for a yes/no answer to help you solve a difficult problem, how would they agree on what to reply? Why would these answers be time limited? And how would they make their answer visible in the…
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52. Birgül Öğüt: phytoliths in west Asian archaeology
Birgül explains about her work using microscopic plant remains to understand life in ancient western Asia. What are phytoliths and how do we find them? How can such microscopic evidence tell us about building use, for example? And where do they sit in the archaeological toolkit? 3:12 what are...
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51. Ali al-Juboori: Reflections
Ali reflects on his long career. How did he become an assyriologist? What are his achievements, and what is his legacy to the next generation? How was his academic career shaped by the twists and turns of political events? 1:56 from school to university 7:14 student life at Mosul 11:12 military...
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50. Dr Basima Jalil Abed
Dr Basima talks about her new research on a Late Babylonian economic archive from Shatir. She explains about her teaching, and incorporating tablet handling sessions at the Iraq Museum. 2:03 an Achaemenid archive 7:15 confiscated tablets 9:53 locating ancient Shatir 11:39 publication plans 15:00...
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49. George Smith: the man behind the headlines SHORT VERSION
150 years ago, a young George Smith made headlines around the world. He had pieced together an Akkadian version of the Flood story found on fragments of clay tablets. Who was Smith, and why did his discovery have such a dramatic impact? What happened to him next? And what is his legacy? We're...
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49. George Smith: the man behind the headlines
150 years ago, a young George Smith made headlines around the world. He had pieced together an Akkadian version of the Flood story found on fragments of clay tablets. Who was Smith, and why did his discovery have such a dramatic impact? What happened to him next? And what is his legacy? We're...
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48. Amanda Podany: A New History of the Ancient Near East
How can 3000 years of history, documented by a mountain of sources, be surveyed clearly in a single book? Amanda tells us all about her new history of the ancient Middle East. Why did she use micro-histories? Who among the people in her book made the biggest impacts on her? 3:36 why...
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47. Louise Quillien: Textiles from Babylonia
Louise introduces us to the fascinating world of Babylonian textiles. How do we know about textiles when almost none survive? What were they made of and what did they look like? Who made them, and who washed them? What would someone's clothing say about them? 2:46 how do we know about textiles?...
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46. Laerke Recht: The agency of animals
Laerke talks about animals in a new way, taking us beyond thinking about animals as sources of products. What was their agency? And how did they influence human behaviour? 6:10 equids not just horses 9:50 animal agency 12:59 human-horse-dog relations 15:36 animal behaviours 22:31 potential of...
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45. Victor Klinkenberg: An archaeological approach to tablets
Victor takes a fresh look at tablets as archaeological objects. Where and how are they found, and what does that mean for how we interpret them? Are we reconstructing archives from ancient office bins? 5:28 an archaeological approach to archives 11:01 in situ or rubbish? 15:28 the story of…
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44. Sophie Cluzan: Votive statues from Mari
Sophie reveals the secrets of the votive statues from Mari. How did people choose to represent themselves, and why did they make those choices? Why are the male statues walking? And what do the markings on some them tell us about the life of the statue? 4:42 votive statues 7:21 Mari votive…
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43. Nadia Ait Said-Ghanem: Iraqi antiquities dealers of 19th century
Nadia discusses her work on the Iraqi antiquities market of the late 19th and early 20th century. She focuses on two remarkable figures from the trade. Ibrahim Gejou was perhaps the most significant dealer used by European and American collectors. Ferida Antone Shamas is less well-known, but…
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42. Julian Edgeworth Reade: Reflections
Julian looks back over his career. He explains how he developed his interests, and his unusual path into the field. He discusses some key moments: from the excavations at Nimrud, to discoveries in museum collections, and his own excavations at Tell Taya. Who influenced him? What does he think…
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41. Farouk al-Rawi: reflections
Farouk offers his personal story. He describes his family background, his early life, and details of his career. He explains how he became interested in ancient Iraq, and the many people who influenced and helped him develop his career. We learn about life in Iraq during the 20th century, and how...
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40. Davide Nadali: Excavating Tell Surghul
Davide recently returned from a season of work at Tell Surghul in southern Iraq. He discusses the site and his team's work there. How did they choose the site and what did they want to achieve there, and what are their results so far? Why is excavation important anyway? He explains what an...
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39. Saana Svärd: Digital Assyriology in Helsinki
Saana introduces us to the Centre of Excellence in Helsinki. She explains the new tools her team is developing to help us understand the meaning of Akkadian words. How can they help cuneiform specialists? And how can they make cuneiform resources more accessible to other specialists? 3:45 The...
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38. Tonia Sharlach: The power behind the throne
History isn't just about great men. Tonia introduces us to the complicated family life of King Shulgi. Who were his wives? Did they live in a 'harem'? How did he control his empire while managing the ambitions of his many sons? 2:43 the Ur III period and king Shulgi 5:47 Shulgi's family 9:19...
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37. Tim Clayden: The Kassites
Tim introduces us to a dynasty that ruled over Babylonia during one of the periods of its greatest influence. Where did they come from? What were their achievements? And what is their legacy? 2:29 who were the Kassites? 4:57 where did they come from? 9:20 Kassite achievements 18:04 characteristic...
About this show
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 t
Hosted by
Jon Taylor