MIDDLE BRONZE AGE CUNEIFORM TABLETS UNEARTHED IN NORTHERN IRAQ

[Judi Lynn]

JANUARY 15, 2025



Cuneiform tablet, Kurd Qaburstan, Iraq
Photo courtesy of Tiffany Earley-Spadoni

ORLANDO, FLORIDA—According to a statement released by the University of Central Florida, excavations at the Mesopotamian site of Kurd Qaburstan in northeastern Iraq have uncovered cuneiform tablets, a game board, and traces of a large structure dated to about 1800 B.C. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni of the University of Central Florida said that these are the first cuneiform tablets from the period to be uncovered in the region. “We hope to find even more historical records that will help us tell the story of [the city] from the perspective of its own people rather than relying only on accounts written by their enemies,” Earley-Spadoni said. “While we know a great deal about the development of writing in southern Iraq, far less is known about literacy in northern Mesopotamian cities, especially near Erbil where Kurd Qaburstan in located,” she explained. Study of the tablets could also reveal if the site is the ancient city of Qabra, a regional center mentioned in the records of other city-states, Earley-Spadoni

https://archaeology.org/news/2025/01/15/middle-bronze-age-cuneiform-tablets-unearthed-in-northern-iraq/

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