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The Dead and the Afterlife: Assyria

Exploring how the Assyrians buried their dead, honored ancestors, and imagined the journey of the soul.

Chapters

• 0:07 Royal Burials and Tomb Architecture
• 1:34 Rituals for the Dead and Ancestor Veneration
• 3:01 Assyrian Concepts of the Afterlife
• 4:28 Legal and Social Protection of Graves

On-screen text

• 0:07 Royal Burials and Tomb Architecture
• 0:14 Royal Burials and Tomb Architecture
• 0:31 Royal tombs filled with gold and ivory Historical record · Layard, 1853, Excavations at Nimrud (British Museum, BM 124918)
• 0:49 Winged‑lion sarcophagus lid Historical record · Layard, 1853, Excavations at Nimrud (British Museum, BM 124918)
• 1:07 Subterranean chamber under Sargon II’s palace Historical record · Excavation Report, 1975, Khorsabad (Iraq Museum)
• 1:25 Kings buried in palace courtyards Historical record · Royal Chronicle of Ashur‑uballit II, 631 BC (British Museum, BM 124945)
• 1:34 Rituals for the Dead and Ancestor Veneration
• 1:41 Rituals for the Dead and Ancestor Veneration
• 1:58 Libations of water and milk for ancestors Historical record · Ritual of the Dead, BM 33101
• 2:16 Sennacherib’s food offerings to the dead Historical record · Sennacherib Inscription, Nineveh Wall (British Museum, BM 124923)
• 2:34 Festival of the Dead at Nergal’s temple Historical record · Eponym Chronicle, 9th century BC (British Museum, BM 124950)
• 2:52 Food offerings as sustenance for the dead The Institute's interpretation · Gurney, O. R., 1975, *Assyrian Ritual and Belief*
• 3:01 Assyrian Concepts of the Afterlife
• 3:08 Assyrian Concepts of the Afterlife
• 3:25 Irkalla: a dark realm of shadows Historical record · Ashurbanipal Library Tablet K 2689 (British Museum, BM 33101)
• 3:43 Deceased before a deity in relief Historical record · Assyrian Funerary Relief, BM 124918
• 4:01 Nergal’s rule over the underworld Tradition / scripture · Myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal (Assyrian tradition)
• 4:19 Royal tombs under palace foundations The Institute's interpretation · Kuhrt, A., 2004, *The Ancient Near East: C. 3000‑330 BC*
• 4:28 Legal and Social Protection of Graves
• 4:35 Legal and Social Protection of Graves
• 4:52 Law forbids disturbing graves Historical record · Assyrian Law Code, K 2688 (British Museum, BM 33102)
• 5:10 Pit graves with pottery at Tell al‑Rimah Historical record · Tell al‑Rimah Excavation Report, 1995 (University of Helsinki)
• 5:28 Food offerings as sustenance for the dead The Institute's interpretation · Gurney, O. R., 1975, *Assyrian Ritual and Belief*
• 5:46 Royal tombs under palace foundations The Institute's interpretation · Kuhrt, A., 2004, *The Ancient Near East: C. 3000‑330 BC*

Sources

Historical record: Layard, 1853, Excavations at Nimrud (British Museum, BM 124918) · Excavation Report, 1975, Khorsabad (Iraq Museum) · Royal Chronicle of Ashur‑uballit II, 631 BC (British Museum, BM 124945) · Ritual of the Dead, BM 33101 · Sennacherib Inscription, Nineveh Wall (British Museum, BM 124923) · Eponym Chronicle, 9th century BC (British Museum, BM 124950) · Ashurbanipal Library Tablet K 2689 (British Museum, BM 33101) · Assyrian Funerary Relief, BM 124918 · Assyrian Law Code, K 2688 (British Museum, BM 33102) · Tell al‑Rimah Excavation Report, 1995 (University of Helsinki)

Tradition / scripture: Myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal (Assyrian tradition)

The Institute's interpretation: Gurney, O. R., 1975, *Assyrian Ritual and Belief* · Kuhrt, A., 2004, *The Ancient Near East: C. 3000‑330 BC*

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 141 s of CPU.