iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I never imagined being quoted in the same article with Taylor Swift, but then she released her song 'Babylon' and here we are! www.today.com/popculture/m...

today.com

Taylor Swift’s ‘Babylon,’ Explained by 2 History Professors

The song is about not knowing what you had until it’s gone.

0110

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 22/09/2026

NEW Nimrud was a major Assyrian capital, but most research there has focused on its royal architecture, limiting our understanding of everyday life in the empire. A new project explores Nimrud's Lower Town, shedding light on the city's ordinary people. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Aerial view of a desert landscape containing archaeological remains, most notably a large, rectilinear wall. Locations of features such as the acropolis are annotated.

0299

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Spotted in the wild! From a Sunday NY Times article about AI podcaster Dwarkesh Patel--a photo of his bookshelf. Not at all where I would have expected to see my book, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings. It is about as far from AI as a book could possibly be! #Mesopotamia www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/b...

Photo of a bookshelf containing non-fiction books from a NY Times article

290

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I was lucky enough to be interviewed on the first episode of this new podcast from the Financial Times, called The Story of Money. We had a really interesting conversation. It's also on Spotify etc. @financialtimes.com #mesopotamia #cuneiform #debt www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09n...

youtube.com

How ancient Mesopotamians solved runaway debt | The Story of Money

YouTube video by The Story of Money Podcast | Financial Times

0193

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

At 4,500 years old, this the oldest bridge in the world and it's in S. Mesopotamia. This is an excellent short documentary done by the excavators Ebru Toran and Sébastien Rey, who show that it was more than a bridge, it was a sophisticated water control system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWSl...

youtube.com

The oldest bridge in the world | Curators' Corner S10 Ep12

YouTube video by The British Museum

0162

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

This article confirms that, 3,300 years ago, Cornish tin from the UK was traded all the way to the Mediterranean! This is very exciting news (and combines two of my absolute favorite things: hiking in Cornwall and researching Bronze Age trade and diplomacy!)

0101

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

A cuneiform letter between two kings: I must say (this) now and vent my feelings....When you placed a request with me for two horses, I indeed had them conveyed to you. Yet you... sent me 20 pounds of tin.... The value of such horses is 10 pounds of silver. But you sent me just 20 pounds of tin!

Akkadian cylinder seal showing a man riding an equid, among other figures. From Collon, 1987, First Impressions, image 685.

2181

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

I had fun doing this podcast episode for The Ancients about Old Babylonian letters! We discussed messengers, scribes, and even a certain copper trader of dubious repute! #eanasir #cuneiform #Mesopotamia podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

podcasts.apple.com

The World's Oldest Letters

Podcast Episode · The Ancients · 11/27/2025 · 55m

3599

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

This is fascinating! Semiyarka has been found to be an ancient city in Kazakhstan, specializing in production of tin-bronze, and contemporary with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms (Kassite Babylonia, Mittani, Hatti, New Kingdom Egypt, Mycenaean Greece, etc) in the Middle East and Mediterranean.

210120

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Oxford Academic @academic.oup.com · 09/09/2025

Your favorites, now available in paperback. From sweeping histories that span continents to deep dives into our digital lives, this season’s paperback releases offer something for every kind of reader. US: oxford.ly/4m05rMw UK: oxford.ly/4lW1eJL

New in Paperback this Autumn with a variety of covers from Oxford University Press

071

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Evidence for what seems to be an engineered flood in Mesopotamia c. 2350 BCE, which "illustrates how critical infrastructure for irrigation and transportation could be deliberately exploited to exacerbate the environmental and economic impacts of warfare." #Mesopotamia @paulczimmerman.bsky.social

081

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #waitingforgodot, links in comment

1171

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already been waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #Godot, links in comment

Old Babylonian terra cotta plaque showing two divine male figures next to a tree

090

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

"The dog understands: 'Take it!' It does not understand: 'Put it down!'" True 3,900 years ago when a young Mesopotamian scribe copied the proverb onto a round school tablet; still true today! #cuneiform #Mesopotamia #dogs Tablet: BM U.17207.77, CDLI P346305; sculpture: Louvre AO 4349, CDLI P386356

Circular clay tablet with three lines of cuneiform text across the middle. Modern ID in ink at the bottom reads UET 6/225

312038

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Oxford Academic @academic.oup.com · 25/07/2025

What was life like for kings, priestesses, merchants, brickmakers, musicians, and weavers in the ancient Near East? Discover their stories through the voices of real people who lived thousands of years ago. Now in paperback: global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Weavers, Scribes, and Kings. Oxford University Press

13510

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

One of the earliest cities in southern Mesopotamia proves to have been home to a huge network of canals for about 5,000 years (though not all the canals were in use at the same time). This fascinating research was done by Jaafar Jotheri and colleagues. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

cambridge.org

Identifying the preserved network of irrigation canals in the Eridu region, southern Mesopotamia | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

Identifying the preserved network of irrigation canals in the Eridu region, southern Mesopotamia - Volume 99 Issue 405

2131

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

These new documents from Girsu (written on clay, of course, not stone as the URL suggests) sound fascinating! The scribes "note absolutely everything down. If a sheep dies at the very edge of the empire, it will be noted. They are obsessed with bureaucracy.” www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

theguardian.com

‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds

Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations

0185

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Rishiya, the chief musician at Mari c. 1760s BCE, served under King Yasmah-Addu. Surprisingly, he was retained by Y-A's antagonist and successor, Zimri-Lim, even though Rishiya had neglected his allocated farmland, which had been taken away from him. He must have been a terrific musician!

1323

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Research by my daughter @podanymd.bsky.social just published in @jama.com Network Open. Important work (and proud mom moment!)

090

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

“The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.” where's Indiana Jones when you need him? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

theguardian.com

Archaeologists discover first pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt in more than a century

Uncovering tomb of Thutmose II hailed as most significant discovery since Tutankhamun in 1922

517134

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

New discovery: First discovery of a royal tomb since King Tutankhamun's was found over a century ago. A joint Egyptian-British archaeological team has uncovered the tomb of King Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th Dynasty. english.ahram.org.eg/News/540638.... 🏺 AncientEgyptBluesky

A photo of the discovery: A chamber with a lot of debris.

739786

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Sunrise at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever experienced; golden Roman columns glowing against the deep blue sky, serene and seemingly timeless. This new report on the damage to Palmyra in recent years is devastating. phys.org/news/2025-02...

phys.org

Report documents devastation of ancient city of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site, after the fall of the Assad regime

Palmyra is one of the most famous sites in Syria for its extraordinary heritage and archaeological remains. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980, the city saw much of its heritage destroyed du...

0224

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Thanks so much, Megan @digital-hammurabi.bsky.social! I really enjoyed our conversation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dX...

0100

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

From long ago in my non-Assyriological past: this photo showed up in the NY Times today, in an article about the excellent new Bangles biography, 'Eternal Flame'! (We were Those Girls then, playing at the Troubadour. I'm in the pink shirt.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/a... Now, back to cuneiform!

Photo shows the pre-Bangles group, Those Girls, performing on stage in 1980 in front of an audience at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. From left: Vicki Peterson (guitar), Amanda Hills (bass), Debbi Peterson (drums).

0311

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Little Ba'la-bia, her twin toddler brothers and baby sister, victims of famine, were sold by their desperate parents to a rich man in ancient Emar. These are the footprints of two of them, pressed into clay and sealed like contracts, when the children were taken away from home c. 2200 years ago.

Image of clay imprints of children's feet with inscriptions and seal impressions. From Lewis, Theodore J. "Family religion at Ugarit." In Household and family religion in antiquity (2008): 78

59328

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

“Do not bend your neck for that which cuts necks.” A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

Photo of a fragment of a clay tablet shaped a bit like a diamond. Although it is only a fragment, the cuneiform text on it is well-preserved. There is a vertical line down the centre which indicates it once had at least two columns. The colour is reddish brown

3040531419

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Pottery sherds last forever and provide some of the many ways archaeologists and historians can shed light on the everyday lives of common people in the past.

030

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

A glimpse of a past time: c. 2,700 years ago the Neo-Assyrian govt deported 977 people from Que. They're listed here: 334 men, 349 women, 172 boys, 121 girls. 45 were toddlers and 50 were nursing, some no doubt born en route. SAA 11 167: oracc.org/saao/P335907/, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings, 451-452.

A clay tablet with the following cuneiform inscription:
334 able-bodied men; 38 children of 5 spans' height; 41 children of 4 spans' height; 40 children of 3 spans' height; 28 children, weaned; 25 children, sucklings. Total 172 boys.
349 women; 8 females, of 5 spans' height; 22 females, of 4 spans' height; 49 females, of 3 spans' height;17 females, weaned; 25 females, sucklings. Total 121 girls.
Grand total 977 people, deportees, from Que.
http://oracc.org/saao/P335907/

26415

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Finds at Kurd Qaburstan, Iraq by @tiffanyspadoni.bsky.social: "Animal bones found...suggest that residents enjoyed a varied diet, including domesticated meat and wild game. This level of dietary diversity is unexpected for non-elite populations in Mesopotamian cities...." www.ucf.edu/news/ancient...

ucf.edu

Ancient Artifacts Unearthed in Iraq Shed Light on Hidden History of Mesopotamia

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at UCF, and a team of researchers made the new discoveries during field work at the Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan. The research provides i...

0257

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

"When I came to Babylon, for the messengers of Zimri-Lim (king of Mari) there were unending servings of pork, fish, fowl, and nuts, while I was totally ignored!" Here's hoping your festivities are happier than those of this ancient messenger! ARM 26 384, J. M. Sasson, From the Mari Archives, 88.

A clay cuneiform text with Old Babylonian recipes inscribed on it, 18th century BCE.

2211

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Andrew A.N. Deloucas @aandeloucas.com · 16/12/2024

Always a treat to find my favorite name: Ilī-wēdêku. His name means "my god, I am alone". Here, Mr. My-God-I-am-alone is witness to a marriage between Sin-iqišam and Ninlil-ninam in Nippur ca. 1830 BCE. TMH 10, 1 (P503174): cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/50...

handcopy of the cuneiform tablet TMH 10, 1, comprised of three museum fragments, HS 2119+HS 2329+HS 2424. Highlighted is the name Ilī-wēdêku (ì-lí-we-de-ku)

415329

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

These two people, Shara-igizi-Abzu and her father Ushumgal, are two of the earliest people on Earth whose names are recorded on their images, c. 2900 BCE. He was a Mesopotamian priest, apparently giving land, houses, and animals to his daughter. Met 58.29. See Weavers, Scribes, and Kings, Ch. 3.

Ancient stone stele with an image of Ushumgal, a bearded male figure wearing a skirt and standing in front of a building, with a cuneiform inscription above him.

Ancient stone stele with an image of Shara-igizi-Abzu, a female figure wearing a dress and holding an object in her hand, with a cuneiform inscription in front of and above her.

210526

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

There's some fascinating new research on the origins of the wheel, by Richard Bulliet and Kai James. Hear them on The Ancients podcast. (shows.acast.com/the-ancients...) and read their article in Royal Society Open Science (royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...). What are your thoughts?

shows.acast.com

Origins of the Wheel | The Ancients

080

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

"When the data were visualized as grayscale images, ghostly outlines emerged of structures as deep as 6 to 10 feet below ground. The data revealed the location of the city’s water gate, possible palace gardens, and five enormous buildings, including a 127-room villa ..." news.agu.org/press-releas...

news.agu.org

Abandoned Assyrian capital brought to life in new magnetic survey

The first geophysical survey of an important Middle Eastern archaeological site overturns long-held assumptions about its history

14715

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

A chief barber in Mesopotamia could trim beards, shave heads, do surgery, advise the king, and serve as a high official. See fingerprints of a barber here, next to a rolling of his elaborate seal. Barbers were trusted to wield sharp blades carefully! Rouault TFR2 5-17; Podany aeon.co/essays/in-th...

A black and white photo of a lump of clay bearing the impression of a cylinder seal which has a cuneiform inscription, a figure of a goddess, and gold caps. There are fingerprints on the clay.

1445

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

This is a delightful thread about the fingerprints (and nail prints and even bite marks!) that scribes and students sometimes left on cuneiform tablets.

0205

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Evidence of ancient students learning how to write by copying insults and disputes in cuneiform. The terrific show at ISAC featured many such school exercises. Thanks, @rtvan.bsky.social for alerting me to this post!

0111

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

With many new followers, I thought I should introduce myself! I'm an ancient historian and author of 5 books, including Weavers, Scribes, and Kings (2022). It explores the Middle East from 3500-323 BCE, through the lives of real people--rich and poor, old and young, women and men. Audiobook as well!

Book cover showing a sculpture of an ancient king carrying a basket on his head, against a brown background, overlaid with the text: "Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New HIstory of the Ancient Near East, Amanda H. Podany"

4607

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Paw prints prove that good boys and girls have been casually walking across wet concrete (actually drying Mesopotamian mudbricks, in this case) for thousands of years. (Penn Museum B16461, Hearst Museum PAHMA 9-1765, VA Bab 04060.005, British Museum 137495)

324168

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Ever had one of those days when you just delete everything you've written? A scribe in Ebla, 4,300 years ago, had the same kind of day. Here's the clay tablet he crushed in his hand! See: Biga, Maria Giovanna. "An angry scribe of the third millennium BC." SCIENZE DELL'ANTICHITÀ (2011): 281-282.

A cuneiform tablet crushed by an ancient scribe, with fingerprints

517351

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

For Ea-naṣir's many, many fans--here is a terrific thread with the history and evidence behind the famous complaint letter and the man who received it, more than 3,700 years ago!

05016

Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany

Andrew A.N. Deloucas @aandeloucas.com · 22/11/2024

Ea-nāṣir is the recipient of the world’s oldest complaint letter. He’s reportedly the worst businessman of the 18th century, a mediocre conman whose actions should have him put out of business. Is this fair? Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.

12835421347

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

This Sunday Nov 17 in DC, in person and on-line: I'll do a public lecture, "Securing Peace in the Ancient Middle East," about Bronze Age diplomats from 6-7:30 pm, and check out the exciting papers on recent Amarna research from 10-4!

1123

Amanda Hills Podany @ahpodany.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

I'm new here (just left the platform-formerly-known-as...) and looking for friends from Assyriology, music, teaching, or any other place we might have interacted!

7150