Thin End of the Wedge
Jon Taylor
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Top 10 Thin End of the Wedge Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Thin End of the Wedge episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Thin End of the Wedge for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Thin End of the Wedge episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
34. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni: Urartu and digital public engagement
Thin End of the Wedge
09/22/21 • 32 min
Tiffany introduces us to Urartu, Assyria's great neighbour and rival. What can we learn from its network of fortresses? And how can deep maps and digital storytelling help us engage people with our work?
3:48 Urartu and the Urartians
9:36 Vayots Dzor Fortress Landscapes Project
12:56 the fortress network
15:16 fire beacon stations
18:42 digital storytelling
20:50 deep maps
23:16 community engagement
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
20. Xiaoli Ouyang: Silver in Sumer: money in Mesopotamia?
Thin End of the Wedge
02/10/21 • 26 min
Xiaoli introduces us to silver in the Sumerian city of Umma. She explains where it came from and how people got hold of it. Who was able to use it and what for? She tells us how we might understand whether it could be called money. And explains the physical form in which silver circulated.
5:42 What is money?
8:46 Who used silver?
13:00 How they got silver
16:55 Did silver actually circulate?
22:26 How was value set?
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
8. Saber Amiri Parian: Re-reading the Elamite version of Behistun
Thin End of the Wedge
11/11/20 • 29 min
Saber talks about his work recovering the text of the Elamite version of the trilingual inscription at Behistun. This is cuneiform’s equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. It was created at the end of the 6th century BC for Darius the Great of Persia. It has long been famous, but there is still more to learn about it.
3:39 introducing Behistun
6:13 the 3 languages
9:23 Behistun or Bisitun?
10:34 knowledge of Behistun
13:21 why new work is needed
16:16 Saber’s work
20:09 future plans
23:43 Behistun and Elamite in Iran
You can find Saber here:
Academia: https://independent.academia.edu/SaberAmiriParian
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saaber.pariyaan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Saber_Parian
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WedgePod
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
4. Gina Konstantopoulos: A demon haunted world
Thin End of the Wedge
10/16/20 • 31 min
16/10/2020
Thin End of the Wedge
Episode 4: Gina Konstantopoulos: A demon haunted world
Gina guides us through the family of demons. Who were they? What did they do, and why? How could tell if a demon had possessed someone. And what could you do about it? Hear the words of anti-demon spells.
02:47 What was a demon?
07:04 Pandemonium! And demonic warfare. Pazuzu and Lamashtu.
13:26 Where they live.
15:10 Why demons attack.
18:37 How to fight demons. Exorcists and magic.
28: 49 Plans for the future.
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WedgePod
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
75. Moudhy Al-Rashid: Engaging interest in Mesopotamia
Thin End of the Wedge
03/30/25 • 37 min
Moudhy talks about the different kinds of outreach work she has done. How does she excite interest in material that is very unfamiliar for most people? What works well? She discusses the different audiences and formats, the various approaches and possibilities.
2:18 why Mesopotamia?
4:45 attracting interest
8:11 overcoming the unfamiliar
11:19 reliable history versus pseudo-history
13:10 radio and podcasts
17:06 scale and detail
19:47 different audiences
22:03 images
23:52 what didn't work
25:55 favourite fact
27:17 new book
33:30 what's next?
On the Spot: Moudhy Al-Rashid Feb 2019
The Stylus is Mightier than the Sword Feb 2020
You're Dead to Me--Cuneiform: the world’s first writing system
You're Dead to Me--The Ancient Babylonians
Writing and rewriting history Feb 2025
The Rest is History RIHC: Mesopotamian Mythology, Cyrus the Great, and The First Museum
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
66. Rune Rattenborg, Seraina Nett, Gustav Ryberg Smidt: Geomapping Cuneiform
Thin End of the Wedge
05/10/24 • 41 min
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: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
64. Ali Kadhem Ghanem: Managing the site of Ur
Thin End of the Wedge
03/06/24 • 29 min
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: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
63: Enrique Jiménez: the electronic Babylonian Library
Thin End of the Wedge
02/03/24 • 31 min
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: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
62. Prize-winning assyriology
Thin End of the Wedge
12/19/23 • 30 min
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: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_pod
Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod
18. Carmen Gütschow: Archaeological conservation
Thin End of the Wedge
01/26/21 • 31 min
18. Carmen Gütschow: Archaeological conservation
Carmen introduces the work of an archaeological conservator. She discusses the issues that arise in different materials, and the range of treatments and tools she uses. What are the pressures of conservation work on an archaeological site? And what does she do differently in Europe and the Middle East. As an expert in treating cuneiform tablets, Carmen explains about firing and salts.
3:03 what a conservator does
4:23 ceramics
7:38 organics and humidity
8:54 metals
11:40 work on an archaeological site versus work in a lab
13:38 work in the Middle East
16:23 cuneiform tablets
17:42 firing tablets
21:46 preserving original condition
24:37 working in museums
Carmen’s book
Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg/Excavation in Assur and Bakr Awa and Ninive in Iraq/Kurdistan
- https://www.assur.de/Themen/Ausgrabung/Assur2001/Konservierung/konservierung.html
- https://www.assur.de/Themen/Bakr_Awa/Restoration/body_restoration.html
- https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/ausgrabung-in-ninive-heilsbotschaft-aus-dem-alten-orient/25727444.html
The Shamlu Archaeological Mission (SAM) is part of the DFG Emmy Noether project "Flight - Migration - Interaction. Artefact related diversity in Ancient Near Eastern contexts of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC"
LMU/ Iran. Das elamische Archiv aus Goshtaspi. Staatliche Verwaltung
Sippar library/ Baghdad, Iraq. „Electronic Babylonian Literature“ (Professor Enrique Jiménez).
Hilprecht collection, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena
• https://www.oriindufa.uni-jena.de/keilschrift
• https://iaassyriology.com/congratulations-winner-of-the-second-iaa-dissertation-prize/
• https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/dzo/artikel/201/91_201.pdf?t=1408373297
DAI /Uruk-Warka collection, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
• iDAI.publications: publications.dainst.org › efb › article › download
• https://lens.idai.world/?url=/repository/eDAI-F_2020-3/eDAI-F_VanEss.xml
Böhl-Collection NINO /Leiden, Netherlands
• http://www.nino-leiden.nl/collections/de-liagre-bohl-collection
• http://www.nino-leiden.nl/message/pilot-restoration-of-clay-tablets-in-the-bohl-collection
VAM Berlin “Das Vorprojekt BABylo-tec”. Erinnerung an das ende der deutschen Babylon- Expedition
Museum of Islamic art Berlin/ Afghanistan. A museum project in Herat Afghanistan
• http://ancient-herat.de/category/herat_pdf_en/
• http://ancient-herat.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/00b-Showcasing-History-Realisation-of-a-Vision-D.pdf
•https://www.academia.edu/30106499/Herat_Through_Time_The_Collections_of_the_Herat_Museum_and_Archive_Ancient_Herat_Vol_3_Berlin_2016_extracts
Museum of Islamic art Berlin/ Karachi, Pakistan. A project and exhibition in Karachi
A new museum project in Yazd
• https://www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/museum-fuer-islamische-kunst/sammeln-forschen/forschung-kooperation/iran-the-provincial-museum-yazd-national-museum-teheran/
• https://www.bundeskunsthalle.de/forschungsprojekte/iran.html
• https://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/Iran
• https://www.welcometoiran.com/german-institute-to-help-set-up-museum/
Music by Ruba Hillawi
Website: http://wedgepod.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wedge_p
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FAQ
How many episodes does Thin End of the Wedge have?
Thin End of the Wedge currently has 77 episodes available.
What topics does Thin End of the Wedge cover?
The podcast is about History, Archaeology, Podcasts and Education.
What is the most popular episode on Thin End of the Wedge?
The episode title '66. Rune Rattenborg, Seraina Nett, Gustav Ryberg Smidt: Geomapping Cuneiform' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Thin End of the Wedge?
The average episode length on Thin End of the Wedge is 37 minutes.
How often are episodes of Thin End of the Wedge released?
Episodes of Thin End of the Wedge are typically released every 19 days, 18 hours.
When was the first episode of Thin End of the Wedge?
The first episode of Thin End of the Wedge was released on Sep 23, 2020.
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