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“EARLY MESOPOTAMIA AND IRAN”
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by : M.E.L. MALLOWAN
Many residents of Bahrain must have had
their interest in archeology aroused by a visit
to the diggings at Barbar or the Portuguese
Fort, but feel at a loss when more knowledge­
able friends refer to * Ubaid pottery, or the
legendary Gilgamesh as a kind of Sumerian
Hercules. They would like to know more, but
many of the specialist works can be. for the
unitiated, rather heavy going.
BOOK REVIEW
by : MARY FRINGS
What is needed is a concise, well-illustrated
introduction to a specific period or area : just
such a book is available at the Family Book­
shop in the “Library of the Early Civilizations”
series, in a paper-back edition at the very
reasonable price of 975 fils. Entitled “ Early
Mesopotamia and Iran ”, it was written by
Professor M.E.L. Mallowan originally as a
chapter in a much larger volume on the Dawn
of Civilisation. The author was Director of
the E/itish School of Archeology in Iraq bet­
ween 1947 and 61, and carried out excavations
in Iraq and Syria over a period of many years;
despite his professional standing and erudition
he never falls into the trap of “ talking down ”,
and expresses his aim as “ to set before the
general reader, and particularly the University greater depth.
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student, some elementary information about
human achievement in the third millenium
B.C.” Apart from the light shed on the history
of the whole area, travellers in the ancient
“ Land between the Two Rivers ” will find I
signposts to the more interesting sites to be I
visited and a pictorial guide to the relies of the
cradle of civilisation.
Many of the illustrations in colour are
particularly striking, and these are lavishly
supported by photographs and line drawings on
every page.
In the introductory chapter Professor
Mai Iowan describes the growth of urban life in
Mesopotamia even before the third millenium,
and notes that “the invention of writing was...
indispenable to the concentration of life in
cities, and this accomplishment which most men
regard as fundamental to civilisation, was
achieved at this period. The city of Kish has
yielded what is probably the oldest pictographic
tablet and at Uruk .... we have the earliest
collection of writing on clay, at first pictorial,
then gradually evolving towards a wedge-
shaped (cuneiform) script.” A separate - and
very interesting - chapter is devoted to the
Sumerian system of writing which preceded
the different hieroglyphic characters used by
the Egyptians. A brief explanation of the
Sumerian number system is also given ; it has
distinct connections with “ Modern ” Maths !
Pottery of course rates a great deal of
space, but among the more fascinating smaller
artifacts mentioned are the op-art “eye idols ”
found in the temple at Brak ; at the other end
of the scale are photographs and diagrams of 1
the great Ziggurat of Ur.
Whatever the reader’s particular interest-
and he may well develop one while browsing t
through these cages - the basic information and
background are an incentive to study in
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