49. George Smith: the man behind the headlines

11/09/22 • 89 min

150 years ago, a young George Smith made headlines around the world. He had pieced together an Akkadian version of the Flood story found on fragments of clay tablets. Who was Smith, and why did his discovery have such a dramatic impact? What happened to him next? And what is his legacy?
We're joined by guests Sophus Helle, Gareth Brereton, Strahil Panayotov, Enrique Jimenez, Cornelia Wunsch, Mark Weeden, and Pippa Steele.
3:23Smith finds a marvel
13:46who was Smith?
17:06Smith's 1st and 2nd expeditions
22:02the fateful 3rd expedition
27:43the mysterious Mr Mathewson
33:29Carchemish and the Hittites
40:25quarantine!
42:58to Aleppo by horse
51:10a tragic end
56:22Mathewson's career
58:09Smith's family
1:03:10boo, a ghost
1:06:50Smith's notebooks
1:12:55Egibi tablets
1:16:30statue of Kubaba
1:21:29deciphering Cypriote syllabic script
The sad story of Boscawen can be found in Ruth Horry’s “Assyriology at the Margins. The Case of William St. Chad Boscawen (1855–1913)” in IRAQ 77 (2015) pp. 129-142
You can read more about the Egibit tablets in Strahil V. Panayotov and Cornelia Wunsch, "New Light on George Smith’s Purchase of the Egibi Archive in 1876 from the Nachlass Mathewson", in: Melammu: The Ancient World in an Age of Globalization (2014)
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

Previous Episode

48. Amanda Podany: A New History of the Ancient Near East

How can 3000 years of history, documented by a mountain of sources, be surveyed clearly in a single book? Amanda tells us all about her new history of the ancient Middle East. Why did she use micro-histories? Who among the people in her book made the biggest impacts on her?
3:36 why micro-histories?
7:46 finding the non-elites
11:38 who did Amanda empathise with?
13:22 who did she feels sorry for?
16:56 who made her laugh?
19:40 whose story to tell?
21:43 history from limited data
26:11 writing a synthesis
30:26 why this book?
32:52 the author's hopes
Amanda's Academia page

Amanda's university page

Amanda's new book

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

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50. Dr Basima Jalil Abed

Dr Basima talks about her new research on a Late Babylonian economic archive from Shatir. She explains about her teaching, and incorporating tablet handling sessions at the Iraq Museum.
2:03 an Achaemenid archive
7:15 confiscated tablets
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11:39 publication plans
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23:51 thoughts about the future
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

Thin End of the Wedge - 49. George Smith: the man behind the headlines

Transcript

Jon Taylor00:00:13.949

Hello, and welcome to the Thin End of the Wedge, the podcast where experts from around the world share new and interesting stories about life in the ancient Middle East. My name is Jon. Each episode I talk to friends and colleagues, and get them to explain their work in a way we can all understand.

Jon Taylor00:00:32.548

In December 1872, a young assyriologist named George Smith shared what he thought was an excit