Gripping story reveals race to crack world's oldest script, cuneiform

Gripping story reveals race to crack world's oldest script, cuneiform

Cuneiform, the oldest identified writing system, defied deciphering – until 1857. What happened then makes a terrific read, in Joshua Hammer's The Mesopotamian Riddle

Review of Mesopotamian Mystery: An Enchanting Story of the Race for Power

Close-up shot of an ancient column viscous script (bottom) Councillor of the British Museum The Mystery of Mesopotamia Joshua Hammer (Simon & Schuster) What do you need to decipher an extinct writing system? For the new book by Joshua Hammer Mesopotamian Mystery: Archaeologists, Soldiers, Clergy and the Competition to Decipher the World’s Oldest Writing Is [...] Source The post Review of Mesopotamian Mystery: An Enchanting Story of the Race for …

The Cuneiforme, the oldest written system identified, challenged decryption – until 1857. What happened then made a wonderful reading, in the Mesopotamian riddle of Joshua Hammer A close-up photo of the cuneiform script on an old column (below) The Mesopotamian riddle Joshua Hammer (Simon & Schuster) What does it take to decipher a [...]