68 episodes
Thin End of the Wedge Jon Taylor
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- History
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5.0 • 15 Ratings
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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 theirs.
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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 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: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod -
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 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: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod -
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 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: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod -
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 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: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod -
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 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: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod -
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 Dur-Ashur
9:12 results
12:44 who lived there?
13:44 inscribed necklet of a slave
18:49 future work
23:20 Tsukuba
Shigeo's Academia
Shigeo's ResearchGate
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: wedgepod@gmail.com
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
Customer Reviews
Fascinating!
Great guests, interesting topics and skilled host/interviewer. I am binge listening whilst shoveling snow. Merci!
The Stories We Hear
Thank you for prioritising and disseminating the work and backgrounds of those we do not get to hear from so frequently
I love this podcast.
My partner showed me this podcast. He is getting a doctorate in Old Testament studies and he loves the history aspect of this podcast. I enjoy The Thin End of the Wedge because it breaks the information down for both scholars and folks like me who love history. The episodes are fascinating and I like the host’s style of interviewing. He asks really interesting questions to his guests and they share their perspectives. It’s exciting to listen to a podcast where both the host and guest are excited to talk about their research.
I love it! Thanks for all your hard work.