Short tour and hands-on activity

Why do we divide the hour into 60 minutes? In which culture was the story of the Flood told before the Bible? How did an ancient culture develop a script?
The answer to all three questions can be found in ancient Mesopotamia. Cuneiform tablets were already being written on here before 3000 BC - far more than one would think today.

The small teaching collection of the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies tells many stories about everyday life, politics, culture and science in antiquity, from state treaties to school exercises.

The insight offered by Marie Barkowsky from the Community's Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies on 4 July 2026 at 11 a.m. provides an introduction to 3500 years of cuneiform history using originals, casts and replicas of texts, statues, musical instruments and much more.

After the short guided tour, there will be an opportunity to get to know one of the oldest writing cultures in human history at first hand in an exercise for Mesopotamian scribe students. First, they will mould their own tablet out of clay; then, under supervision, they will write cuneiform themselves - from the basic elements to more complex cuneiform characters to words.

Registration is possible via this link !