Wonderful article. I've just finished another Masters (this time in Archaeology) and this reminds me of the ceaseless wonders of the past. And our understanding of the past keeps changing - it is often as complex as the future....
Interesting person! I watched them playing the Ur game for a good 10 minutes--long enough to be drawn in....no doubt someone's got a version out there for sale? I'm not in error to think there's a market for Ur
I got one from the British Museum website about 5 years ago. It was quite expensive but has provided hours of enjoyment. It’s a great game, a judicious balance of strategy and luck.
Thank you so much. The four hours I just spent on YouTube watching his lectures was the longest I've gone in days without thinking about the recent unpleasantness. Now I know where to go to re-center my brain!
Thank you for this wonderful story. I once read an interview with Finkel and eagerly awaited his book, The First Ghosts. I found it fascinating to know that Babylonian men who'd been in battle had nightmares and needed to be rid of the ghosts who plagued them. I've studied PTSD because my father, a navigator during WWII, flew over Germany and survived twenty-five missions. He rarely spoke of the war, but in one sentence-stories. I believe he, too, was plagued by ghosts and nightmares but would never have admitted it. One could say the novel I've been writing is a spell to rid my deceased father of his ghosts. And thank you too for the mention of Finkel's You Tube Curator's Corner.
Oh, and by the way, I have had a few ghostly encounters, one in a museum.
I read a while back that there was a debate about whether ancient soldiers suffered PTSD, because there were few, if any, records of it. One would have thought that mass hand-to-hand combat would be far more traumatic then shooting someone from a distance. But an ancient battle only tended to last a few hours, whereas modern combat can last for much longer.
Have heard Irving Finkel talk on several occasions and found him interesting, enthusiastic, informed and with a great sense of fun. Thank you for spreading the word.
Brian, do people who study the Noah's ark legend every pause to consider the parallels to rising sea levels and climate change and the folly of our current cohort of humans? The article sent chills down my spine. It made be wonder if some of my journals will survive 3000 years and be read on the future by someone toiling to make out my handwriting.
I watched a video recently where someone speculated that the inundation of Dogger Land (between England and the continent) could have resulted in ancestral memories that led the paleolithic people of Wiltshire and surrounding areas to build all those hillforts, as a defense against another flood. There is no evidence for this, but it is an interesting thought.
Oops. Didn’t finish. Anyway, British TV is helping me retain sanity in these terrifying times. Even an American cartoon character, Sally Forth, refers to the need to “rewatch nice people trying to get a handshake from Paul Hollywood for their baked goods.” For others avoiding the news, I heartily recommend “Would I Lie To You?”.
Wonderful article. I've just finished another Masters (this time in Archaeology) and this reminds me of the ceaseless wonders of the past. And our understanding of the past keeps changing - it is often as complex as the future....
I love the diversity of your interests. Utterly fascinating. Thank you.
Marvelous tale, thank you. I hope Finkel is mentoring one or more successors.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Down the Finkel rabbit hole I go.
Thanks for your return to the world of the recondite - I hope I’ve got that right! I also have beard envy.
This is the best thing I will read all day.
Interesting person! I watched them playing the Ur game for a good 10 minutes--long enough to be drawn in....no doubt someone's got a version out there for sale? I'm not in error to think there's a market for Ur
I got one from the British Museum website about 5 years ago. It was quite expensive but has provided hours of enjoyment. It’s a great game, a judicious balance of strategy and luck.
There was one, but iI don't know if it's still around.
What a wonderful escape from brain worms, clown cars and identity politics!
Thank you so much. The four hours I just spent on YouTube watching his lectures was the longest I've gone in days without thinking about the recent unpleasantness. Now I know where to go to re-center my brain!
Thank you for this wonderful story. I once read an interview with Finkel and eagerly awaited his book, The First Ghosts. I found it fascinating to know that Babylonian men who'd been in battle had nightmares and needed to be rid of the ghosts who plagued them. I've studied PTSD because my father, a navigator during WWII, flew over Germany and survived twenty-five missions. He rarely spoke of the war, but in one sentence-stories. I believe he, too, was plagued by ghosts and nightmares but would never have admitted it. One could say the novel I've been writing is a spell to rid my deceased father of his ghosts. And thank you too for the mention of Finkel's You Tube Curator's Corner.
Oh, and by the way, I have had a few ghostly encounters, one in a museum.
Thank you too for cheering me up. I laughed so hard about Smith getting so excited he undressed himself; you made me day!!!!
I read a while back that there was a debate about whether ancient soldiers suffered PTSD, because there were few, if any, records of it. One would have thought that mass hand-to-hand combat would be far more traumatic then shooting someone from a distance. But an ancient battle only tended to last a few hours, whereas modern combat can last for much longer.
Read Finkel's book the First Ghosts and you will be persuaded.
As a hardcore rationalist/materialist, I find it hard to summon up much enthusiasm for a book about ghosts, no matter how interesting the writer.
Have heard Irving Finkel talk on several occasions and found him interesting, enthusiastic, informed and with a great sense of fun. Thank you for spreading the word.
Fantastic Brian.
"the most interesting man you've never heard of"
He's all over YouTube! Some of his lectures have over four million views!
Yes - and yet he’s most definitely not a household name. He should be!
Brian, do people who study the Noah's ark legend every pause to consider the parallels to rising sea levels and climate change and the folly of our current cohort of humans? The article sent chills down my spine. It made be wonder if some of my journals will survive 3000 years and be read on the future by someone toiling to make out my handwriting.
I watched a video recently where someone speculated that the inundation of Dogger Land (between England and the continent) could have resulted in ancestral memories that led the paleolithic people of Wiltshire and surrounding areas to build all those hillforts, as a defense against another flood. There is no evidence for this, but it is an interesting thought.
Serious question..how were these tablets and other artifacts protected during WWII? What are the plans to protect them in the future?
Oops. Didn’t finish. Anyway, British TV is helping me retain sanity in these terrifying times. Even an American cartoon character, Sally Forth, refers to the need to “rewatch nice people trying to get a handshake from Paul Hollywood for their baked goods.” For others avoiding the news, I heartily recommend “Would I Lie To You?”.