Search
Search Results
Image
Interior Cuneiform of Gold Earring, Ur III
The interior hollow surface of the earring. Note how the carved cuneiform signs appear on this side and how the goldsmith joined the “lunar-shaped” segments of the earring. One of a pair of gold earrings, 24 carats. Gift from Shulgi to a...
Image
Cuneiform Clay Tablets from Kanesh
Clay tablets with cuneiform letters found at Kültepe in central Turkey (ancient Kanesh), 1900 BCE – 1700 BCE. They were all written by merchants who, from around 1900 BCE, had come to Kanesh from the city of Ashur in Assyria and established...
Image
Cuneiform Letter Ordering Men to Go to Court
The cuneiform text of this clay tablet orders men to go to Babylon for a court hearing. This letter from Hammurabi is addressed to an official named Sin-iddinam. Old Babylonian Period, reign of Hammurabi, 1792-1750 BCE. From Larsa, Southern...
Image
Cuneiform on Gold Earrings from Ur III
Both earrings are placed in a mirror-image position, with the lower surfaces facing each other. Each earring is composed of nine lunar-shaped segments forming a flattened half- ball. The cuneiform signs run vertically from above downward...
Definition
Indus Script
The Indus Script is the writing system developed by the Indus Valley Civilization and it is the earliest form of writing known in the Indian subcontinent. The origin of this script is poorly understood: this writing system remains undeciphered...
Video
Cuneiform: Irving Finkel & Jonathan Taylor bring ancient inscriptions to life
A brief look into a new book that will bring insight into the world's oldest writing system by authors Irving Finkel and Jonathan Taylor, curators of the world's largest collection of cuneiform tablets at the British Museum. British Museum...
Image
WWI Soldier Writing in the Trenches
A 1918 photograph of a Canadian soldier writing while in a trench on the Western Front during the First World War (1914-18). (Imperial War Museums)
Image
Seshat, Goddess of Writing
A limestone relief slab depicting Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of writing. ca. 1919-1875 BCE. (Brooklyn Museum, USA).
Image
Li Po Writing Poetry
17th-century, woodcut recreation of Li Po writing 100 verses while drinking a quart of wine seated on the veranda with a group of men.
Article
Hymn to Nisaba
The Hymn to Nisaba (c. 3rd millennium BCE) is a poem praising Nisaba, the Sumerian goddess of writing and accounts who also served as scribe of the gods. The poem is officially dedicated to Enki, the god of wisdom (sometimes given as her...