© Cambridge News, UKDr. Martin Worthington
Cambridge University researcher Martin Worthington has created an online audio archive of ancient Babylonian almost 2,000 years after its last native speakers disappeared.
The project is recording readings of Babylonian poems, myths, and other texts in the original tongue dating back to the first years of the second millennium BC.
Curious linguists can access the free audio library and stream 30 recordings in Babylonian, one of the chief languages of Mesopotamia, while reading English translations.
Dr Worthington, an expert in Babylonian and Assyrian grammar who is based at St John's College, Cambridge, put the collection together in his spare time with readings by fellow Assyriologists.
He said: "Whenever I tell people what I do, the first question is what did Babylonian sound like, and how do you know?
"I decided the best thing would be to create a resource where they can listen for themselves.
"I also wanted to dispel some long-standing myths. Many people think the further you go back in history, the less you know about it. In fact, we have masses of information about the Babylonians.
"The site aims to give users a taste of the richness and complexity of ancient Mesopotamian culture, which is not something you normally learn much about at school."
The existing collection focuses on poetry found on clay tablets in Mesopotamia, which includes modern-day Iraq, parts of Syria, Turkey, and Iran.
Dr Worthington said: "In many cases they are the equivalent of Old English tales like Beowulf. We meet gods, giants, monsters, and all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. As stories they are amazing fun."
Listen to the Epic Gilgameš, Old Babylonian Version, Tablet II in Ancient Babylonian.
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