The Drumbeat Forever After
A podcast focusing on the Bronze Age in the Near East, from the development of agriculture during the Neolithic to the collapse of the Late Bronze Age world system at the end of the second millennium BCE and everything in between. Every episode also includes a look at a particular myth or ancient text. Episodes 1, 17, and 31 are good places to start.
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Episodes
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Please donate to Aseel in Gaza here: https://chuffed.org/project/128660-help-aseel-her-family-escape-gaza
Guest: Sheila
We're so back! First, a Sumerian poem about Gilgamesh which mentions his trip to see Ziusudra (also known as Atrahasis, Utnapishtim, and/or Noah), which some have interpreted as evidence for the kind of mass human sacrifice we see in these tombs.
Then, the famous Royal Tombs of Ur, first excavated a century ago, with their famous treasures and aforementioned mass human sacrifice! For the first time, we're able to look at the royal family through the generations rather than dealing with isolated kings' names. We might even be able to identify some of their bodies, unlike their dozens of unlucky victims.
Then, we look at several of the famous artifacts which these tombs produced: the Standard of Ur, the Royal Game of Ur, and several bull-head lyres, including the Great Lyre, along with other musical instruments. We finish up with a look at four tombs: Personal Grave (PG) 1236, possibly the early king Aya-Anzu; PG 1237 (or the Great Death Pit), possibly King Meskalamdu; PG 755, possibly a later member of the royal family also named Meskalamdu; and PG 800, tomb of the famous Pu-abi with her famous jewelry.
Then: Gilgamesh, he of well-proportioned limbs, has lain down and is never to rise again! Sheila (who had just got back from visiting family in India when we recorded this way back in 2023) compares modern Hindu practices with the style of Sumerian oral performances like this one.
Questions? Feedback? Email us at drumbeatforeverafter@gmail.com.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @drumbeatforever
Works cited
Monday May 12, 2025
Monday May 12, 2025
Please donate to Aseel in Gaza here: https://chuffed.org/project/128660-help-aseel-her-family-escape-gaza
Guest: Annika
We've never been more back! We start off this new miniseries on Presargonic Lagash with a series of hymns to Nanshe, patron goddess of Ningen near the Gulf Coast and sister of Ningirsu, patron goddess of the kingdom of Lagash.
Then, we take a boat trip up the "Going-to-Ningen canal" from the coastal town of Gu-abba, past Nanshe's hometown of Ningen, to the major Early Dynastic city of Lagash and then to its administrative capital of Girsu, where we have thousands of texts from the Presargonic dynasty of Ur-Nanshe and the queens who ran the temple of Baba, both of whom we'll examine more in future episodes.
Then, we finish up as Nanshe's Sirara temple in Ningen appears to address some allegations of temple employees leaving work while on the clock, failing to clean the dough trough, eating from temple storerooms and lying about it, and so on. As my old history professor liked to say, the more things change...
Questions? Feedback? Email us at drumbeatforeverafter@gmail.com.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @drumbeatforever
Works cited