The Oldest TABLET ruling a BOARD GAME
British Museum Collection
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6m 18s
Irving Finkel has possibly the coolest job in the world. He is curator of cuneiform at the British Museum since 1979 he’s been trawling the Museum’s 130,000 clay tablets for clues about life in ancient Mesopotamia. In this film, he tells us about a particular cuneiform script, a board game that he’s been obsessed with since childhood!
Originating before 3000 BC, cuneiform script is, as far as we know, the oldest form of writing in the world. The choice of clay as a writing medium in ancient Mesopotamia meant that records of all kinds could survive down to modern times, preserving fascinating documents from ancient civilization, written by a variety of people and societies. From reading these tablets we can understand not only the history and economics of the time but also the beliefs, ideas and superstitions of people from the past.
Cast: Irving Finkel (Curator)
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