Intrigue, whining, and negotiations—all these and more can be found in one of the greatest troves of ancient diplomatic communications.

A poem by Selena Wisnom

Greater Manchester mayor says result represents Labour’s ‘final chance to change’, after soundly beating Reform UK and Restore Britain

At its latest meeting on 1 May 2026, the RHS Council elected 116 Fellows, 77 Associate Fellows, 81 Members and 112 Postgraduate Members, a total of 386 people newly associated with the Society, from t...

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence into higher education has outpaced empirical understanding of its effects on fundamental l…

We’re hiring a writer who can make the world’s largest problems understandable to our large Our World in Data audience.

They're ancient and almost impossible to read but Selena Wisnom has deciphered enough Cuneiform to show just how similar life was for our ancient ancestors.

Tens of millions of us engage with the arts in the UK every year. Imagine what we can achieve, if we all link up for the arts.

Ancient Mesopotamia—the “cradle of civilization”—introduced many of history’s firsts and key figures who shaped its development. In this three-session course, historian and author Selena Wisnom examin...

Upcoming episodes of In Our Time

Ancient Mesopotamia—the “cradle of civilization”—introduced many of history’s firsts and key figures who shaped its development. In this three-session course, historian and author Selena Wisnom examin...

This paper aims to shed light on the so-called 'firing holes' in cuneiform tablets by combining analysis of their position with poetics. The holes are found in almost every genre of Mesopotami...

Our critics review hundreds of books a year. Here are their favourites from 2025, from fiction and crime to memoir and history

Death and taxes have always been inevitable, even in the ancient world.

When a team of Victorian archaeologists dug into a grassy hill in Iraq, they chanced upon one of the oldest and greatest stores of knowledge ever seen: the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, s...

The electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) Project brings together ancient Near Eastern specialists and data scientists to revolutionize the way in which the literature of Iraq in the first millennium BC...

The 35th episode of Poetry Worth Hearing had as its prompt 'making up'. As ever, I hoped poets would interpret this as widely as they needed to and suggested a triplet of ideas as starting points: mak...

🗓️25.09.25 📍Linklaters, London EC2Y 8HQ 🎟️ £20 (£15 concessions, £10 livestream) When Poseidon sends a tempest to stir up the Aegean, four titans of the ancient world find themselves stuck on a rapidl...

A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from ant...

YouTube video by The British Museum

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—A riveting lost Sumerian myth was recently rediscovered thanks to University of Chicago Sumerologist […]