The excavation of Tell Zurghul, ancient Nigin, has now completed its second season, and already fascinating results have appeared. Davide Nadali from the Sapienza University of Rome and Andrea Polcaro from the University of Perugia give us a glimpse of their findings, and it is clear that their ambitions for Read more…
For our third issue of the recurring theme ‘In Popular Culture’, we turn to Assyriology’s ‘greatest hit’ outside the scholarly community: the Epic of Gilgamesh. Like no other text from Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh has caught the attention of a modern audience. But why Gilgamesh? What do the modern artists, poets, authors, Read more…
At the Rencontre in Philadelphia last year, Wilfred van Soldt officially stepped back as Secretary of the IAA. Van Soldt is a co-founder and veteran board member of the association, and played a crucial role in shepherding the IAA through its first decade and a half. IAA presidents emeriti, Piotr Read more…
It is our pleasure to congratulate Sergio Alivernini, who was recently appointed research fellow at the Oriental Institute in Prague! Alivernini, who has previously held positions in Rome and Heidelberg, will be working in Prague on the waterways of the Ur III and Old Babylonian period. Alivernini is an Assyriologist Read more…
As Daesh is pushed back, more archaeological sites are returning to government control. The British Museum has set up a new training programme to help Iraqi heritage professionals prepare for the daunting rescue and retrieval operations that will follow. The program involves intensive training both at the British Museum and Read more…
Jon Taylor is curator of the cuneiform collections at the British Museum, Board member of the IAA, and editor-in-chief of Mar Shiprim. But this spring, he is also something else: charity fundraiser! Over nine months, Jon is running 2166 miles, the distance between his home in Rugby, England and Aleppo, Read more…
All too often, archaeologists working in the field face problems with sexual harassment and physical violence. In 2014, Beth Alpert Nakhai, Associate Professor in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, decided to do something about it. To gain a clearer picture of the extent and Read more…
The Oxford Postgraduate Conference in Assyriology has just completed its sixth instalment, once again bringing together early career researchers from all over the world. The organizers volunteered to provide the newsletter with a full report on the conference, and as they write, this yearly gathering at Wolfson College has by Read more…
One can only be in so many places at one time, and even though exciting conferences and workshops seem to be going on constantly, there will never be time enough to attend them all. But if you happened to miss the Second Workshop on Gender and Methodology in Barcelona, you Read more…
It’s a great pleasure to introduce the 2017 Spring issue of Mar Shiprim! This issue covers a broad range of important and intriguing topics – all the way from the ongoing civil war in Iraq, through Gilgamesh in modern culture and sexual harassment in the field, to new discoveries at Read more…