Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jon Taylor

@jonjtaylor.bsky.social

620 followers 260 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.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Aug 11

Sunny Norwich 😎

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Aug 11

A restored victorian garden in Norwich, on a sunny day. A fountain in the background is framed by tree branches

A 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

1 3

Reposted by Jon Taylor

Sapinuwa @sapinuwa.bsky.social · Aug 8

Woohooo, that tablet is currently on display at the royal palace too!🥳🥳🥳

A clay tablette with a very bad photographed info chart.

2 4 53

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Jul 29

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

Augusta McMahon @augustamcmahon.bsky.social · Jul 10

So nice to chat to @jonjtaylor.bsky.social about our 2025 #Nippur excavations. Check out Episode 77! www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/

Episode list - Thin End of the Wedge

COMING SOON! Tina Greenfield — zooarchaeology Augusta McMahon — Chicago excavations at Nippur The Lagash Archaeological Project — fieldwork at Lagash Jana Mynářová — cuneiform in Egypt Christina Tsoup...

www.wedgepod.org

1 3 8

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Jun 24

congratulations! And good luck. Looking forward to hearing news of progress

1 2

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Jun 16

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

1 2 3

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Jun 15

A little Sunday timeline cleanse

1 1 5

Reposted by Jon Taylor

Kristina Killgrove @killgrove.bsky.social · May 14

Babe, wake up. New relief of Ashurbanipal just dropped! 🧪🏺

'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.

www.livescience.com

14 69

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · May 10

Thanks so much. Glad you found it and like it. Hope you enjoy the other episodes too.

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Apr 25

thanks! Very glad to hear you enjoyed it. Small fields like Assyriology especially need good communicators like @moudhy.bsky.social

1 5

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Apr 25

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

1 17

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Apr 17

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.

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · Apr 1

There were challenges and joys in my first steps into public history, and I’m so glad I took them because every day I get to share something I love with so many people.

It was lovely to get to chat about this process and more with @jonjtaylor.bsky.social www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/

Screenshot of a podcast episode posted to Patreon. At the top is a square shaped thumbnail with a drawing of a brick wall, a ziggurat in the distance on the left, and on the right a bearded figure in a dark pink/red outfit who is writing a cuneiform tablet. Below that is a large Play button shaped like a triangle, and below that is a line that shows the time from 0:00 to 37:38.

The description reads as follows:

“75. Moudhy Al-Rashid: Engaging interest in Mesopotamia

New
4 days ago
Moudhy talks about the different kinds of outreach work she has done. How does she excite interest in material that is very unfamiliar for most people? What works well? She discusses the different audiences and formats, the various approaches and possibilities.”

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Apr 15

maybe. I'll have a little look around

1 2

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Apr 15

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?

1 3

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 14

this exhibition received more than 100,000 visitors, and both the English and Hungarian versions of the catalogue sold out. Very impressive.

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Jan 29

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 exhibition

night time photo of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, host of the new exhibition. Blue light illuminates the neo-classical facade

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 14

is that a Roman salute?

1 9

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 13

did you ever hear this one? www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdbl...

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA song by Mr. Nicky

YouTube video by Mr. Nicky's World History Songs

www.youtube.com

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 13

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/...

4 28

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 13

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 eyes

an 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.

1 5 32

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 13

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 remains

Work 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

2 7 26

Reposted by Jon Taylor

Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Mar 12

Iraq returns 27,000 antiquities to national museum: Official
www.rudaw.net/english/midd...

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.

www.rudaw.net

2 10

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 10

are you seeing any repairs?

1 1

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 10

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

1 6

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 10

"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

1 1

Jon Taylor @jonjtaylor.bsky.social · Mar 10

"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..."

1 2