Every once in a while, when I'm cruising through articles on MSN's homepage, I'll sift through the everyday news grind and come across something that catches my eye. Yesterday was the latest such occurrence, the article in question this time concerning the discovery of a 3,400 year-old clay fragment bearing Akkadian wedge script, an adaptation of Sumerian cuneiform.
Shard bears oldest script found in Jerusalem
"Archaeologists say a newly discovered clay fragment from the 14th century B.C. is the oldest example of writing ever found in antiquity-rich Jerusalem."
Shard bears oldest script found in Jerusalem
Of course, knowing nothing of Akkadian culture and its place in the pantheon of history, I decided to do a bit of research and educate myself. After some careful digging, weeding through the mire of the world-wide web to get a nugget scholarly information, I discovered the longest piece of literature in Akkadian was the Epic of Gilgamesh. In fact, there is a cuneiform tablet on display at the British Museum (called the Deluge or Flood Tablet) that supposedly relates to a part of Gilgamesh - the eleventh of twelve tablets of the standard Akkadian version. Fascinating stuff, if you're familiar at all with this ancient poem. Here is a link to the British Museum's highlight on this topic: The Flood Tablet, relating part of the Epic of Gilgamesh