Admission requirements
Participants should have a good knowledge of cuneiform writing (be able to decipher an Old Babylonian document) and of Akkadian, as well as of Mesopotamian notation of years and months, and of metrology.
For students with a BA degree from Leiden University: the BA course ‘Epigrafie van het spijkerschrift’ is prerequisite.
Research MA students can take this course as a OIKOS research school elective.
Description
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the techniques and practices of reading, editing, reproducing and handling original cuneiform inscriptions.
The cuneiform script was in use during more than three thousand years in the Ancient Near East. First developed by the Sumerians in the fourth millennium BC, the script was later adapted to render other languages spoken in the region, such as Akkadian, Hittite, Hurrian and many others. Moreover, whereas the first cuneiform signs were impressed on clay tablets, scribes soon began to experiment with other media such as stone and metal. In the course of these processes, the cuneiform script underwent significant change, from sign shape (paleography) to spelling conventions and material aspects of writing. This course is designed to introduce students to this rich history and to equip them with the practical skills necessary to read, edit, reproduce and handle cuneiform inscriptions. In addition, the course will address archival practices and record management in the Ancient Near East.
In this course, we will work with original clay tablets and other artifacts kept in the Böhl collection at Leiden (NINO, The Netherlands Institute for the Near East) and we will apply both traditional and digital techniques to the study of these objects.
The course consists of two parts. In part one, the student is introduced to the history of cuneiform paleography and the script’s most important epigraphic genres. Moreover, students will learn techniques of editing, reproducing and handling cuneiform texts from specialists (hand-drawing, photography, 3D imaging, digital text markup, restoration and preservation).
The second part consists of an individual project designed by the student in which editions are made under expert supervision of two chronologically distinct groups of tablets in the Böhl collection. Students will give a short oral presentation about the text edition they are working on (twice).
The course will bring together a diverse group of people, including (Research) MA students, PhD students, staff, and invited guests affiliated to museums and other universities in the Netherlands and abroad. The group will cooperate closely with NINO at Leiden.
Course objectives
Course objectives of part 1:
to gain insight into the materiality of writing, archival practices and record management in the Ancient Near East;
to master techniques of editing, reproducing and handling cuneiform texts;
to understand the paleographic developments of the cuneiform script over several millennia and regions.
Course objectives of part 2:
to design and carry out two individual projects involving a particular group of original cuneiform tablets or other types of cuneiform inscriptions;
to make a complete edition of unpublished or semi-published texts;
to present one’s epigraphic work to peers.
The requirements for MA and Research MA students are differentiated: Research MA students are expected to come up with their own original research topic, find literature, and write a scholarly report; MA students may expect more help in choosing their topic and their papers may consist of an assessment of the status quaestionis on a given question.
This research seminar contributes to the achievement of learning outcomes 4a and 4c (to give and write a clear and well-argued oral and written presentation on a research topic in accordance with academic standards) of the study programme Classics and Ancient Civilizations.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the Classics and Ancient Civilizations website.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Total course load 10 ec x 28 hours = 280 hours:
Attendance: 13 x 2 hours = 26 hours;
Class preparation: 24 hours (12 × 2h);
Oral presentations: 20 hours;
Individual projects: 210 hours.
Assessment method
participation: 10%;
oral presentations: 20% (10 each);
individual project (two text editions): 70%.
If the overall mark is unsatisfactory, only the paper of the individual project may be re-written. The mark for the oral presentations and participation will still count in such a case.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Resit
Paper, preparing a scholarly edition of a selected group of texts, 100%.
Exam review
Students will be invited to discuss their paper and their results for this seminar (assignments, paper) individually with the teacher, as soon as the results have been published.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for communication.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about registration in uSis is available in English and Dutch.
Exchange and Study Abroad students: please see the Study Abroad/Exchange website for information on how to register.