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Jon Taylor

@jonjtaylor.bsky.social
659 followers 259 following 57 posts

Cuneiformist. History of ancient western Asia. Likely to post on assyriology and museums. Hoping to be distracted by dogs, cows, running, zombies. Curator of cuneiform & cylinder seals at British Museum. Host of Thin End of the Wedge podcast. Views my own.

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Reposted by Jon Taylor
Gabe Moshenska @gabemoshenska.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Just published a paper on the complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir meme, the decade-old tumblr in-joke that continues to impact the public understanding of the ancient world. Paywalled but email me if you want a copy. 🏺
Title section of a journal article: The Legend of Ea-Nasir: How a Babylonian
Businessman Became an Internet Meme. By Gabriel Moshenska, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK, g.moshenska@ucl.ac.uk 
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/view/30204
https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.30204
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Sunny Norwich 😎
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
A restored victorian garden in Norwich, on a sunny day. A fountain in the background is framed by tree branchesA restored victorian garden in Norwich, on a sunny day. A fountain in the background, with a colourful red and yellow ornamental flower bed in the foreground
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Sapinuwa @sapinuwa.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Woohooo, that tablet is currently on display at the royal palace too!🥳🥳🥳
A clay tablette with a very bad photographed info chart.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
If you want to hear the latest news from one of Iraq's most iconic sites, and how excavations work, episode 77 is for you
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
congratulations! And good luck. Looking forward to hearing news of progress
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
We were just walking, but it does look very relaxing
A canal in the Midlands region of UK. In the foreground is a narrowboat with a colourful art design. In the background is a bridge, and a set of lock gates, with a small lock keeper's house on the far bank
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
A little Sunday timeline cleanse
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Reposted by Jon Taylor
Kristina Killgrove @killgrove.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Babe, wake up. New relief of Ashurbanipal just dropped! 🧪🏺
livescience.com
'Quite enigmatic': Rare stone carving of Assyrian king surrounded by gods discovered in Iraq
A massive stone carving featuring an Assyrian ruler and several deities has been found in Iraq.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Thanks so much. Glad you found it and like it. Hope you enjoy the other episodes too.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
thanks! Very glad to hear you enjoyed it. Small fields like Assyriology especially need good communicators like @moudhy.bsky.social
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
the one on the right is a copy of part of a list of Akkadian synonyms called Malku=sharru. Words that are difficult for some reason (like being old, or from another language) are explained using a more straightforward word. Very helpful list
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
it was great to chat with @moudhy.bsky.social about her work. Worth a listen if you'd like to hear about how the stories you enjoy reading come to be made.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
maybe. I'll have a little look around
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
I'm not so familiar with material from Ugarit, but it doesn't look very promising for Mesopotamian. Especially just a single sign. You do get Luwian and Egyptian, so maybe Ugaritic is a possibility? Would 'i make some kind of sense?
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
this exhibition received more than 100,000 visitors, and both the English and Hungarian versions of the catalogue sold out. Very impressive.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
is that a Roman salute?
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
did you ever hear this one? www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdbl...
youtube.com
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA song by Mr. Nicky
YouTube video by Mr. Nicky's World History Songs
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
enjoyed talking about The Book, Moudhy's work here, and more. You won't have to wait long. The episode will be out later this month. In the meantime, there are a few other things to keep you entertained, like this on cuneiform www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
You're Dead to Me - Cuneiform: the world’s first writing system - BBC Sounds
Join Greg and his guests to learn all about the history of cuneiform.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
key finds include an inscribed doorway slab of King Ashurnasirpal, and a stone monument carved with designs representing the gods
a carved head of a griffin, viewed side on. The white head is contrasted with inlaid black and red eyesan explanation of the many divine symbols on the kudurru, a commemorative stone. Round astral designs represent the sun, moon and Venus. Ashur is shown as a horned crown. Adad is shown as lightning. Ninurta is an eagle. a large stone threshold slab, carved with a lengthy cuneiform inscription.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Thin End of the Wedge episode 74 is out: Michael Danti and John MacGinnis talk about Nimrud: post-conflict archaeology in the heartland of Assyria. www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/ The Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program--conservation and reconstruction work, excavation, and capacity building.
View of northwest Palace from the north. A series of low mounds with outcrops of rough vegetation. In the background stand damaged reconstructed remainsWork in progress the Upper Chambers. Shallow excavations in the mound reveal rooms and mud brick floors. Newly discovered sanctuary chambers. The remaining walls stand as high as a person
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Donna Yates @profdonnayates.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Iraq returns 27,000 antiquities to national museum: Official www.rudaw.net/english/midd...
rudaw.net
Iraq returns 27,000 antiquities to national museum: Official
Iraq’s General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage announced on Tuesday the recovery of 27,000 looted relics from within Iraq and abroad, confirming their return to the National Museum of Iraq.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
are you seeing any repairs?
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Couldn't quite bring myself to post that bit of archaeological context on #InternationalWomensDay. My wife's reaction was that she hoped someone twonked him with a sturdy handbag
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
"their claim. They had no claim because they had rendered no service to the state." Leonard Woolley, excavator of Ur, speaking at a debate (nuance alert) on women's suffrage while a student at Oxford. Big debate in UK c. 1900. Gertrude Bell was also anti-suffrage, no doubt for different reasons
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
"Mr Woolley disapproved of the existence of women at all but in a few resigned phrases pointed out their superiority to men. Such beings must not, he said, be degraded by politics. Women had no sense of honour nor any appreciation of secrecy. But their capability was not the question so much as..."
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
nice. where did you get them from?
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
the shop had some excellent merch. I resisted the Ishtar Gate glasses case, but now regret it
glasses cases in the exhibition shop, with an image of a striding lion from the glazed brick processional way in Babylon
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
the exhibition ends with some 'reception'--ancient Mesopotamia in the modern world. Pazuzu looms large, of course
Marge Simpson holding a statuette labelled 'Pazuzu'poster of the band Gorillaz, with an image of Pazuzu and the text 'choose Pazuzu'a view of the final section of the exhibition, showing a variety of examples of Mesopotamia in art and pop culture
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Reposted by Jon Taylor
Gabe Moshenska @gabemoshenska.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Happy 10th birthday to the Ea-Nasir complaint tablet meme! A glorious decade of memes, mashups, merchandise, erotic fanfic, real-life copper fraud, and pilgrimages to the British Museum. Thread 🧵:
hand holding a sticker reading "well behaved copper ingot merchants rarely make history".
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Try earrings. Or bighorns, bigstick, fancyhat, muchgold 😏
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
yes, it is a type of cursive (especially compared to library tablets). But he is writing to the king. It's in the Babylonian style of writing, which has wedges in more orientations than Assyrian does. That might be what you're sensing.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
yes, the clay tends to be a little coarser. But I think what you're seeing there is a combination of the curvature of this kind of tablet (they're pillow-shaped) and the larger size (and therefore also depth) of the writing. The writing is also less tightly controlled than in library tablets.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
then it's back down to earth with house and home. There are magical figurines for protection, then a demonic battle: Pazuzu, lord of the winds, versus Lamashtu, the child-snatcher. The Lamashtu plaque is Erika's favourite object. In the middle is a sick person on a bed, receiving treatment
magical figurines to protect the houseamulets representing demons locked in a battlea plaque depicting the demon Lamashtu
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
next up is the heavens, creation, and the zodiac. This is home to another really nice display supported with graphics.
the section dealing with the heavens. Large graphics support display of the small seals. A stela showing the storm god, riding an animal and holding a weapon in his hand.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
there's also something about making seal impressions. Displaying cylinder seals is tricky. This display is a great way to do it.
a display showing seal impressions are madea graphic showing cylinder seals, their impressions, and some of the fine designs
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
next up come kings and serving the gods, followed by an impressive display of cylinder seals. We see the raw materials seals were made from. These various stones held different meanings.
the section of the exhibition dealing with kings, ceremonies, and the godsthe area displaying cylinder seals. Large images are key to the backgrounda display of stone types used to make sealsdifferent stones and examples of seals made from them
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
can't help with muting, but filling your feed with other things does pretty well for me. #MallardMonday is gold dust. Seems to bring with it all sorts of other birds, landscapes, and the occasional mushroom
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
ooooh, snazzy cover!
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I'm really hoping they keep it when the exhibition closes, and put it in the assyriology department. It would be an amazing student recruitment tool
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
the first section is about the archaeology of Babylon. There's a model of the Processional Way, a glazed brick panel showing a lion, and archival materials discussing the German excavations
section 1, with a model of the Processional Way, a glazed brick panel showing a lion, and a timeline on the side walla model of the Processional Way, and some archival materials and graphics discussing the German excavations
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
you enter through a mock-up of the famous Ishtar Gate. On the way, there's a chance to get a photo with the demon Pazuzu (here a curator provides scale and vibe)
enlarged reproduction of Pazuzu standing at the entrance entry to the exhibition, mimicking the Ishtar Gate of Babylon
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Thin End of the Wedge 73 is out: Zoltán Niederreiter & Erika Roboz: Kingdom of Gods and Demons www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/ First major exhibition of Mesopotamian heritage in Hungary. And a big catalogue in both English and Hungarian versions. I'll do a little virtual tour over the coming days
photo of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, host of the new exhibitionnight time photo of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, host of the new exhibition. Blue light illuminates the neo-classical facade
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Reposted by Jon Taylor
Andrew A.N. Deloucas @aandeloucas.com · 25/01/2025
Two snapshots into the history of the mouse-catching food industry. While not certain, these mice were likely the short-tailed bandicoot rat (Nesokia bunnii).
Taxidermy of the specimen, located in the Urmia University Natural History Museum.
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
or, as said to Ashurbanipal: "A good reign — righteous days, years of justice; copious rains, huge floods, a fine rate of exchange! ... The old men dance, the young men sing, the women and girls are merry and rejoice ..." 🕺💃
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
mixed prospects. Any wildlife? 🐟"If (there are) fish because of the rainwater, (there will be) a prosperous harvest, the ‘heart’ of the land will live." 🐸"If (there are) many frogs because of the rainwater, the good fortune of the year; variant: the land will decline." 🤷‍♂️
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
if you have on your mind crime, punishment, and big houses, and you'd like a healthy outlet, why not listen to Thin End of the Wedge: www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/ episode 56. Nicholas Reid: The Big House episode 35. Małgorzata Sandowicz: Law and order in Babylonia
wedgepod.org
Episode list - Thin End of the Wedge
COMING SOON! Zoltán Niederreiter and Erika Roboz: Kingdom of Gods and Demons. Mesopotamia 1000-500 BCE Tina Greenfield — bioarchaeology The Lagash Archaeological Project — fieldwork at Lagash Jeff All...
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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...
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Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Also classical Latin--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbEKIW3pUUk Then I found Eddie Izzard trying to use Old English to chat with a Frisian farmer 🐂https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZY7iF4Wc9I
youtube.com
Talking to a Frisian farmer in Friesland with Old English
YouTube video by Bay Yildirim
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