Submitted by veigapaula on Fri, 12/04/2009 - 17:17
The Rosetta Stone and the Behistun inscriptions are both key to the decipherment of ancient languages that co-existed in time. What's also interesting is that they were both discovered in the middle of wars and by military personnel. There is something quite ironic about armies hell-bend on destruction and division instead finding these hidden codes to decipher ancient words, the study of which will go on to unite the world.
Dr Campbell Thompson investigated Behistun on behalf of the British Museum and published his findings in 1937. He stated that:
Submitted by Sean Williams on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 16:36
Austrian archaeologists have unearthed the oldest cuneiform seal inscription fragment ever found in Egypt. The piece dates to the Old Babylonian reign of King Hammurabi, who brought the world its first code of law, between 1792 - 1750 BC. Egypt's culture minister Farouk Hosni announced the discovery today, made by the Austrian Archaeological Mission in a pit at Tel El-Daba, modern name of ancient Avaris, 120km north-east of Cairo in the Nile Delta.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Tue, 09/01/2009 - 12:04
The lost Inca civilization of the Andes developed a seven-bit binary code using knotted string called Khipu, a leading American anthropologist argues. If true, the relics would have invented binary language around 500 years before the invention of the computer. The coloured textiles could have provided thousands of language permutations; around the same as the Sumerian cuneiform of 1,500 to 1,000 BC, according to Harvard University professor Gary Urton.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:13
"Death will come out of it! No-one will escape! I am done!" It may sound like the death-knell of a tragic big screen hero, but it's actually the desperate pleas for help of an ancient Assyrian leader, as his city awaits destruction at the hands of bloodthirsty Babylonian armies. The words have been discovered inscribed on a cuneiform tablet at the site of Tushan - an Assyrian city near Diyarbakir, SE Turkey. The tragic epsiode was written by Mannu-ki-Libbali in 630 BC, as a final call-to-arms for allies in the region - yet experts believe the tablet never met its intended recipient, and Tushan was soon torn to shreds by advancing Babylonian forces.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 12:10
It was the first of its kind; writing which sparked a cultural revolution, the tremors of which can still be felt today. But how did cuneiform script evolve, what languages did it influence and for what reason was it first used? The history of this fascinating paradigm takes us all over the ancient world, beginning in the fertile fields of the Mesopotamian plains.
Origins
To understand cuneiform, you must first delve into its birthplace. Fourth millennium BC Mesopotamia was a land full of opportunity, where the smallest tribe could lay claim to an entire continent. By that time the city-states of Sumer had begun to stamp their authority on the region, pioneering skills such as irrigation and social structuring. The sodden reaches stemming from the Persian Gulf were perfect at times for the growing of foods like barley, onions, grapes and apples.
Traveller, discoverer, cuneiformist and politician
5 March 1817
Austen Henry Layard was born in Paris on March 5th 1817 to a wealthy and powerful family, and was soon educated in England, Switzerland and Italy. He was not the ablest performer at school, yet his time in Florence honed a deep fascination for foreign art and history which would prove the pivotal driving force behind his illustrious career. Inspired by ancient history, Layard set off for the Middle East in 1839, where he would explore Babylonia and Assyria with his friend Edward Mitford. It was during this time that Layard noticed a suspicious Tell, or mound, near the city of Mosul, modern-day Iraq.
This simple calcite bowl is marked with delicate Cuneiform inscription in Sumerian: "For Inanna, Aka-Enlil, the chief merchant, son of Heti, dedicated [this bowl]."
This massive stele is carved out of shiny black basalt and is covered with the cuneiform text of 282 laws that governed Babylonian life, written in great detail. (The number, by the way, is conjectural since there are no divisional markers in the text.) The language used is Akkadian, the language of everyday life, rather than the priestly Sumerian language. This wasn't the first stele to show the laws of a city, but it is the best known and the most stylish. At the top of the stele, a low relief carving shows the god Shamash dictating the law to the king. Sun rays coming from the god's shoulder identify him as Shamash. The king raises his hand to his mouth as a mark of respect.
To understand cuneiform, you must first delve into its birthplace. Fourth millennium BC Mesopotamia was a land full of opportunity, where the smallest tribe could lay claim to an entire continent. By that time the city-states of 
