"Some variation in costume and ornament would also be desirable. Granted fashion didn't change
rapidly in the Ancient world but there *are* differences between early and late jewelwork etc"

what for one generation of royalty. You sure ?
i still think that the evidence uncovered by woolley is open to interpretation. i am currently researching it in detail and i'll let you know the salient facts (with an open mind) shortly.

as for mr pettino. i would have said that instead of interpreting a brand new (world takes a big breath) previousely undiscovered chapter of gilgamesh has just misinterpreted an old one.(breath out slowly)
He seems to be blissfully unaware that the electronic text corpus of sumerian literature has long ago (1999) translated an obituary about gilgamesh. written at a much later date. (i.e. mythical not factual) a bit like the continuing adventures of hercules/zena/insert character here/robin hood appear on tv thesedays.

i think he's made his big mistake on this piece here
"Go ahead to the place where the Anuna gods, the great gods, sit at the funerary offerings, to the place where the en priests lie, to where the lagar priests lie, to where the lumah priests and the nindijir priestesses lie, to where the gudu priests lie, to where the linen-clad priests lie, to where the nindijir priestesses lie, to where the ...... lie, to the place where your father, your grandfather, your mother, your sisters, your ......, to where your precious friend, your companion, your friend Enkidu, your young comrade, and the governors appointed by the king to the Great City are, to the place where the sergeants of the army lie, to where the captains of the troops lie,
From the house of ......, the ...... will come to meet you. Your jewel will come to meet you, your precious one will come to meet you. The elders of your city will come to meet you. You should not despair, you should not feel depressed."

Thing is it isn't an instruction for gilgamesh to go and take poison with the rest of his immediate family is it. Being as its directions to Gilgamesh's ghost to go to the place where the spirits of the dead lie. It doesn't say at any point that "your priests, priestesses,grandfather,father,mother,sisters and friends are drinking poison as we speak and will be dead per your arrival at your own bed where you will then drink poison yourself. Bit of a stretch on mr pettino's part methinks

Believe it or not being controversial about sumerian literature is nothing new. I could mention the name of one arch deviant who makes a living from it. but won't




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2005 02:42PM by marduk.