Cuneiform

An accessible look at the world's oldest writing system: cuneiform.

Originating in ancient Mesopotamia, cuneiform script on tablets of clay is, as far as we know, the oldest form of writing in the world.

This new book brings the world in which the cuneiform was written to life for the non- expert reader and covers the origins, development and eventual demise of the script.

Richly illustrated with a wealth of fresh examples ranging from elementary school exercises to revealing private letters or beautifully calligraphic literature for the royal library, we meet people that aren't so very different from ourselves.

For the first time cuneiform tablets and their messages are not remote and inaccessible, but wonderfully human documents that resonate today.

Authors

Irving Finkel and Jonathan Taylor are curators of the world's largest collection of cuneiform tablets at the British Museum. The treasures in their care number over 130,000 examples of cuneiform writing and cover more than 3,000 years of human experience.