Collections of cuneiform tablets
The Department of Assyriology and Archaeology of Anterior Asia at the University of Liège holds 347 epigraphic documents on clay tablets. Each tablet bears a text in cuneiform script, making it possible to identify its provenance and determine the period in which it was written. All come from southern Mesopotamia, and more specifically from the Mesopotamian kingdoms of southern Iraq such as Larsa, Lagash, Ur and Babylon.
23rd to 6th centuries B.C
When these tablets were acquired from Paris antiquarians between 1925 and 1930, the aim was to "place original documents before the eyes of students wishing to learn cuneiform epigraphy". Indeed, the Department of Assyriology and Archaeology of Anterior Asia offers a complete curriculum in the field of Syro-Mesopotamian civilizations. It was therefore important to acquire documents dating from four different periods (Akkadian period [23rd century BC], third dynasty of Ur [21st century BC], Paleo-Babylonian period [18th century BC] and Neo-Babylonian period [end of 7th and 6th centuries BC]) and presenting characteristics specific to their chrono-geographical context, in order to offer students a vast corpus.
Enhancing the collection
To date, almost half of the collection has been published: texts from the Akkadian period [23rd century BC], those from the third dynasty of Ur [21st century BC] and a few from the Paleo-Babylonian period [18th century BC]. As a result, more than half remain to be studied and published. What's more, as the publications in question are somewhat dated, it has been decided to launch a program to publish all the tablets in the collection. In addition to members of the ULiège Assyriology Department, this project will involve colleagues from the universities of Lille and Paris.
In parallel, a digitization project has been set up. The latter comprises two components: traditional 2D photographic coverage and 3D modeling (photogrammetry). All the data acquired using these methods will enable a detailed study of the materiality of the tablets, as well as their enhancement.
Alongside this collection: casts, prints and films
In addition to these authentic tablets, the Assyriology Department holds a number of casts of other cuneiform tablets, as well as a fragment of brick inscribed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar II [605-562 BC]. The collection also contains impressions - or more accurately, unrolled impressions - of cylinder seals. These emblematic objects of the Ancient East were used to seal jars, doors and tablets. The cylinder seals allow students to visualize and study the engraved scenes and their inscriptions.
The Assyriology Department is in possession of archive films from the French archaeological mission of Mari- tell Hariri in Syria (1938 and 1950s). These reels were bequeathed by the descendants of Georges Dossin, professor at the University of Liège between 1951 and 1966, and responsible for editing the texts of Mari-tell Hariri until the end of the 70s. The Assyriology Department also has educational films on Mesopotamia from the 1960s. All the department's film reels have now been digitized.
The department's various missions - university teaching, research and the dissemination of knowledge to all - are enriched by these collections of tablets, casts and archive films.
