Greg Jenner

Because they set the building on fire and it baked the clay.

So yeah, so the next episode of Great British Bake Off, that's what we want to see.

So yeah, so the next episode of Great British Bake Off, that's what we want to see.

OK, so we know how cuneiform was deciphered and we know how it was preserved. The library burned down baking the knowledge, which is extraordinary. Let's now discover how cuneiform was first invented. Phil, you've already mentioned the alphabets. We know it has letters in it. Cuneiform isn't phonetic.

OK, so we know how cuneiform was deciphered and we know how it was preserved. The library burned down baking the knowledge, which is extraordinary. Let's now discover how cuneiform was first invented. Phil, you've already mentioned the alphabets. We know it has letters in it. Cuneiform isn't phonetic.

But in the very, very, very late old Persian, there was a tiny element of phonetic in there, a little bit, a little bit alphabetic, a little bit. That's right. So just right at the end, it changed a tiny bit. But the system is not phonetic. Is that right?

But in the very, very, very late old Persian, there was a tiny element of phonetic in there, a little bit, a little bit alphabetic, a little bit. That's right. So just right at the end, it changed a tiny bit. But the system is not phonetic. Is that right?

How many characters are there in cuneiform? If you were to be a scribe and train, how many would you have to learn?

How many characters are there in cuneiform? If you were to be a scribe and train, how many would you have to learn?

Yeah. Can we see, can we show Phil some?

Yeah. Can we see, can we show Phil some?

We haven't smuggled anything out of a library because it's probably too valuable. So we've got some pictures on an iPad. The iPad is stolen. Just add the facade.

We haven't smuggled anything out of a library because it's probably too valuable. So we've got some pictures on an iPad. The iPad is stolen. Just add the facade.

So we have a tablet on a tablet.

So we have a tablet on a tablet.

more complicated characters but for those first three it is just like just marking yeah just marking but that was some very good philology phil well done oh thanks i feel like you really like you've just brought the level of the podcast up there i think everyone's very impressed um you know we're now talking about a technology that's 5350 years old the obvious question is why clay why you know the why is clay the technology

more complicated characters but for those first three it is just like just marking yeah just marking but that was some very good philology phil well done oh thanks i feel like you really like you've just brought the level of the podcast up there i think everyone's very impressed um you know we're now talking about a technology that's 5350 years old the obvious question is why clay why you know the why is clay the technology

More people, more stuff means you need to write things down. Mm-hm. So the invention of writing is an accounting system. It's like a software for keeping track of your receipts. Exactly. And then it turns into literature. Is that fair? That's exactly right. OK.

More people, more stuff means you need to write things down. Mm-hm. So the invention of writing is an accounting system. It's like a software for keeping track of your receipts. Exactly. And then it turns into literature. Is that fair? That's exactly right. OK.

We should talk about who can read this. I'm assuming most people are not literate. We've got multiple societies here. It's very generic to just say Bronze Age Mesopotamia, but who can read and write cuneiform? Is it a very highly skilled thing? Can you have basic functional literacy if you're an ordinary fisherman? Who's got that knowledge?