Asa history graduate, I spent a lot of hours in my university library, pouring over dense texts and sticking to demanding deadlines. I spent most of my life for three years in a library and although I was glad to see the back of that place, I could never entirely shake off my fascination with them and their long history.
It was on a visit to the British Museum with my partner when I saw the Library of Ashurbanipal for the first time. I remember being fascinated by the clay tablets and blown away by the idea that an ancient civilisation headed by a ruthless leader, was even thinking about writing things down.
As I learned about how important writing and record keeping was in informing a generation of archaeologists and historians about ancient Assyria and our understanding of the Near Middle East, I couldn’t help but think about what we can learn from this civilisation and Ashurbanipal’s need to record a version of the past.