Tom Scott and Irving Finkel playing the Royal Game of Ur
03:00
Cuneiform tables have proved invaluable to developing our understanding of Sumerian culture, and Mesopotamia more broadly. Finkle is a specialist in cunieform, and taught Tom Scott and Matt Grey how to write their names in cunieform
More information about the cuneiform object they are discussing can be found here
10:51
The British Museum's catalogue entry points out some issues with how the original object has previously been constructed "An important point to note, often forgotten, is that this was a hollow box and not a solid board: it was therefore a much more delicate item than the present reconstruction suggests." This entry, found here, also notes several similar objects found in other ancient Mesopotamian grave sites.
15:42
Finkel makes an interesting point here, suggesting that the storage aspect of the original Royal Game of Ur object links to modern gaming practices. We might think of this in relation to box art and integrated box storage in modern boardgames
Tom Scott and Irving Finkle playing the Royal Game of Ur
01:46 - 02:31
The British Museum's catalogue entry for the original object can be found here
03:00 - 03:21
Cuneiform tables have proved invaluable to developing our understanding of Sumerian culture, and Mesopotamia more broadly. Finkle is a specialist in cunieform, and taught Tom Scott and Matt Grey how to write their names in cunieform
More information about the cuneiform object they are discussing can be found here
10:51 - 11:04
The British Museum's catalogue entry points out some issues with how the original object has previously been constructed "An important point to note, often forgotten, is that this was a hollow box and not a solid board: it was therefore a much more delicate item than the present reconstruction suggests." This entry, found here, also notes several similar objects found in other ancient Mesopotamian grave sites.
15:42 - 15:59
Finkel makes an interesting point here, suggesting that the storage aspect of the original Royal Game of Ur object links to modern gaming practices. We might think of this in relation to box art and integrated box storage in modern boardgames