These were the state archives of the ancient Sumerian site of Girsu, in modern-day Tello, while the city was controlled by the Akkad dynasty from 2300 to 2150BC. While the texts may not be great ...

The texts reveal a complex bureaucracy that went into running the ancient civilisation. These were the state archives of the ancient Sumerian site of Girsu, in modern-day Tello, while the city was ...

Paying the staff and supplying the equipment had to come from somewhere, and it was not cheap. Yazidi elders pass down captivating tales of a fabled city, Girsu, believed to have been lost to time.

Sébastien Rey, curator at the British Museum, described the tablets as “spreadsheets of empire.” ...