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used the same writing, but their How did you come into this field? All my friends got fellowships here
language was something completely After all, it’s not a common field of for three months then went to
different. There’s no modern relative study. Australia for a year, and their wives
of Sumerian, so we have to use That’s true. It’s not an everyday didn’t want to go and children didn’t
Babylonian texts to understand the choice for schoolchildren. I was a want to change school. In the end,
Sumerian texts. bit lucky! When I was at the end of they gave up. It’s so hard. I’ve had
my schooling, I decided I wanted this blessed sunshine-filled career.
It’s a fantastic thing, and the whole to be an Egyptologist. So, I got a
of life is recorded on these rather grammar, the famous grammar, and This place is marvelous because the
strange looking things which I read a lot of Egyptian. When I went collections are fantastic right across
people are often rather rude about up to university, I was going to do the board, from all the countries
when they see them. They often say Egyptology. The elderly Egyptologist of the world, and the resources are
that they look like nothing, but we professor gave one class with about marvelous. 130,000 pieces of clay! I
have literature, magic, medicine, 15 people or so, and the next day he have looked at them all, but I haven’t
history, astronomy, astrology, dropped dead in the kitchen of his read them all. There’s everything you
grammar, love letters, business house. And that was that. can imagine. I love it and want to tell
letters. the world outside about it.
The department head called me
Isn’t it difficult to continually sit in and said, “Look, it’s going to I didn’t know about the Royal Game
there and read and understand what take me a long time to get another of Ur nor cuneiform before you
is written? Egyptologist. I’ll have to advertise. talked about it.
Well, it depends on how you do it. So, in the interim, there’s a man When the museum discovered the
You see, I was so fortunate because here called Wilfred Lambert, and he YouTube platform, curators started
my professor was extremely strict teaches cuneiform. Why not do a bit to post videos there. One was done
and he didn’t want any wasted of cuneiform with him? It’d be useful. on the Royal Game of Ur. We didn’t
time. He said, “If you’re going to do And then when the Egyptologist do any rehearsal. We just had a model
this, you have to learn all of it,” and comes, you can switch back.” board and the pieces, and started to
he never said anything polite or play. On the video I explain the rules,
friendly. For six years, I had one- So, I went and knocked on Lambert’s and we played a game all the way
to-one teaching, like a master class door and said, “Hello, I want to through with commentary. It looks
for a violinist. Sometimes some learn some cuneiform.” He wasn’t like it’s a scripted piece of drama. But
students came for a while, but they very pleased because he was a very actually, it was all improvised then
didn’t stay long. He said, “You have productive and industrious scholar. put on YouTube. Today more than
to learn to read both languages, When you are a real scholar, you 6.9 million people have watched the
any kind of text, any period.” So, don’t want students. They are a pain video. I just cannot believe it! So,
I was sent out into the world with in the neck, you know, they take they know about this game all over
the best possible training. I went time and all that, so, he was rather the world. For instance, when we
to Chicago where they wrote the hostile to me. got to the airport in Dubai, we were
modern dictionaries of these sitting around with our papers trying
ancient languages. He said, “Well, look, all right, learn to arrange a visa, and a man comes
these things. Come in on Tuesday. up to me and says, “Hey, aren’t you
There also it was an amazing world We’ll have a look.” It’s almost unique the guy who does that game?” He
because they worked like in a cancer in the history of the world. I read recognized me from this YouTube
research unit. They were all very, through what he told me. I went video on the Royal Game of Ur.
very serious. They even went to work to the first class, and he put some
on Christmas Eve. You had to work stuff on the board and we looked at I do lots of videos about cuneiform
all the time. I went from this intense something. I knew then just like that, writing and about objects in the
training to an intense workplace. that that was my entire life’s work. I’d museum. Lots of other curators do
When I went to the British Museum, never heard of it before. It was just the same. It’s the best way to get
where you have to read everything, I fortuitous. It was like a railway line outside the building into the world
was happy, and I’ve been there ever from then on that ended up in the at large, because people all over the
since. British Museum. world watch YouTube, grandmothers,

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