Assyrian Stone Tablet... with an Ancient Curse!

Описание: Today's artifact is a large stone tablet known as a kudurru. In some ways it is similar to a stele (stela) but it has much more text than those usually have and it records a royal decree. Very interestingly, it includes curses upon those who might try to break the decree. Yes, we have encountered an ancient CURSE! But luckily it doesn't apply to us really. We aren't trying to break the decree, but are trying to put the tablet back together and learn about its text.

The kudurru was likely stored in an upper story of this temple, where administrative records were kept. As of filming we had found five pieces of the tablet, all reddened in the fire that burnt the building and likely caused the kudurru to shatter. Most of the pieces were found in the shrine we have been excavating, but one was found in the courtyard outside. This was simply due to the way the building collapsed.

We did find the final piece of the kudurru just before we left for the season and I include some photos of it, prior to initial cleaning.

Join me and my colleague Dr. John MacGinnis to find out more about this fascinating object and its quite specific curses.