A sumerian school riddle and its relevance for understanding ancient near Eastern Thinking

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• Dr Sabina Franke (Universität Hamburg)
• Tuesday 03 February 2026, 17:15-19:30
• McDonald Seminar Room, Department of Archaeology.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Lucy Emanuel.

Why do we all have to go to school? Six lines of text written by teachers in a Mesopotamian school on a clay tablet can elucidate their thinking, their associations and their ambitions in teaching. This rather unspectacular text contains various pictures, cultural images and ideas that will be analyzed. In the end, it becomes very clear: not much has changed.

Please note that this seminar will be run in hybrid format but we can only admit participants with Cambridge email addresses to the Teams meeting on this occasion. Teams link for online participation: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/33446094708684?p=gBLxxnkbbi8Igwxpif

This talk is part of the Ancient Near East Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Ancient Near East Seminar Series
• McDonald Seminar Room, Department of Archaeology

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