The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon is an exciting story of detection involving legends, expert decipherment of ancient texts, and a vivid description of a little-known civilization. Recognized in ancient times as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the legendary Hanging Garden of Babylon and its location have long been steeped in mystery and puzzling myths. In this remarkable volume Stephanie Dalley, a world expert on ancient Babylonian language, exposes new evidence and clarifies all the known material about this enigmatic World Wonder. Placing the Garden within a tradition of royal patronage, Dalley describes how the decipherment of an original text and its link to sculpture in the British Museum has enabled her to pin down where and by which king the Garden was laid out, and to describe in detail what it looked like. Through this dramatic and fascinating reconstruction of the Garden, Dalley also follows its influence on later garden design. Unscrambling layer by layer the many stories that have built up around the Garden, including the parts played by Semiramis and Nebuchadnezzar, Dalley shows why this Garden deserves its place alongside the Pyramids and the Colossus of Rhodes as one of the most astonishing technical achievements of the ancient world.

Product Description: This volume contains copies and editions of 474 cuneiform tablets inscribed with records of the First Sealand Dynasty.The texts consist of letters and administrative texts dated to the reigns of two kings: Peshgaldaramesh and Ayadaragalama, sons of Gulkishar, who were previously unknown beyond laconic references in king-lists...read more

This collection explores the spread of culture through literacy from Mesopotamia into Egypt, Palestine and Greece after a system of writing was developed. By gathering evidence from a vast range of material and literary sources from 3000 BC onwards, threads of influence and continuity are traced into the Middle Ages. The effect of recent rediscovery on European art is also explored.

Product Description: Making basic material available to cuneiform scholars, this volume contains a detailed catalogue and full indices of 291 cuneiform clay tablets, ranging in date from c. 1900-1600 B.C., in the Ashmolean Museum. With hand copies of each text, this collection will greatly aid scholars in reassembling archives from tablets in collections worldwide, and in writing histories of these very early periods...read more

Product Description: A study of all the tablets found at Fort Shalmanser by Sir Max Mallowan and Professor David Oates during the years 1957 to 1963. It also lists all inscribed material, with the findspots, and includes indexes of all personal names, place-names and professions. (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)