31. Stefania Ermidoro: Revisiting a Victorian explorer: Layard in the archives

Stefania introduces us to one of the dominant figures of early assyriology--Austen Henry Layard. She guides us through the archival sources that put his famous publications in context, and reveal the man behind the legend. 3:03 Why was Layard famous? 5:34 Why study Layard? 7:50 Layard's cuneiform skills 9:24 The sources and what we learn from them 15:08 Are the archives everything or just a selection? 16:42 Do the archives agree with his publications? 18:48 Stefania's public...

Om Podcasten

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.