Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Epigraphic Discoveries in Southern Iraq (Ur and Larsa), 2015-2023
Dominique Charpin, Professor of Mesopotamian Civilization, Collège de France (Paris)
The ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur (Tell el-Muqayyar), famously home of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible (“Ur of the Chaldeans”), was first rediscovered and brought to the attention of the public through the excavations of the Anglo-American team led by Leonard Woolley between 1922 and 1934. However, it wasn't until 2015 that archaeological research resumed on the site, under the initiative of the late A. Al-Hamdani. Four campaigns were conducted there between 2015 and 2022, during which many cuneiform documents have been recovered in a variety of contexts from five excavation spots. At Larsa (Tell es-Senkereh), the French excavations that were interrupted in 1989 resumed in 2019, revealing cuneiform inscriptions on tablets, seals, and bricks that date back to the Old Babylonian period (2002-1595 BCE) and open up new chapters in the history of the city and kingdom. As a field epigraphist for both excavations, Professor Charpin will present these recent discoveries, which are currently in the process of being published, and share some of the new insights they offer on early second millennium BCE Mesopotamia.
Prof. Charpin’s visit to Chicago is part of longstanding collaboration between the University of Chicago and the College de France and is made possible through a partnership between the France Chicago Center (FCC), the Collège de France, and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC).
Epigraphic Discoveries in Southern Iraq (Ur and Larsa), 2015-2023
Dominique Charpin, Professor of Mesopotamian Civilization, Collège de France (Paris)
The ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur (Tell el-Muqayyar), famously home of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible (“Ur of the Chaldeans”), was first rediscovered and brought to the attention of the public through the excavations of the Anglo-American team led by Leonard Woolley between 1922 and 1934. However, it wasn't until 2015 that archaeological research resumed on the site, under the initiative of the late A. Al-Hamdani. Four campaigns were conducted there between 2015 and 2022, during which many cuneiform documents have been recovered in a variety of contexts from five excavation spots. At Larsa (Tell es-Senkereh), the French excavations that were interrupted in 1989 resumed in 2019, revealing cuneiform inscriptions on tablets, seals, and bricks that date back to the Old Babylonian period (2002-1595 BCE) and open up new chapters in the history of the city and kingdom. As a field epigraphist for both excavations, Professor Charpin will present these recent discoveries, which are currently in the process of being published, and share some of the new insights they offer on early second millennium BCE Mesopotamia.
Prof. Charpin’s visit to Chicago is part of longstanding collaboration between the University of Chicago and the College de France and is made possible through a partnership between the France Chicago Center (FCC), the Collège de France, and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC).
