On Tuesday, 4th July, Etone Exceeding Excellence welcomed Dr Frank Simons, an Assyriologist from Trinity Collrge, Dublin to speak in person to pupils and parents.  

Dr Simons explained the nature of Assyriology and the work of an Assyriologist. He explained the dozens of languages across 3,000 years in a wide area of the Middle East centring around Iraq, all of which were written in cuneiform on clay tablets which are preserved in vast numbers in museums across the world. Assyriology’s source base dwarfs that of Egyptology, and the classical world in both size and variety. 

The audience were taken in the quest to define samānu, tracking specific words through medical cures, ancient dictionaries, omens, divination texts, incantations, agricultural manuals and even ancient children’s schoolwork! They were the first in the world to see which animal the samānu was, which will be published in due course. 

Huge curiosity and engagement were shown in the focus and range of questions Dr Simons answered at the end of his talk. 

The lecture series resumes in September with a musicologist, a world famous Astronomer, a trip to Warwick University science lectures and more to be revealed.