ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Festivals and rites: Assyria

A ten‑minute visual journey through the major Assyrian festivals, their processions, music, incense, and temple ceremonies.

Chapters

0:07 Akitu: The Assyrian New Year
1:16 Processions and Music
3:01 Incense, Perfume, and Sacred Smell
4:19 Temple Rites and Sacred Marriage

On-screen text

0:07 Akitu: The Assyrian New Year
0:14 Akitu: The Assyrian New Year
0:31 Akitu: 12‑day royal festival Historical record · Sennacherib's Prism (Taylor Prism)
0:49 Statue of Ashur washed in Akitu Historical record · Royal Library tablet K. 1235 (Ashurbanipal)
1:07 Barley and dates for festival Historical record · Administrative tablet from Nineveh, K. 1260
1:16 Processions and Music
1:23 Processions and Music
1:40 Procession with musicians and incense Historical record · Palace relief, British Museum BM 124917 (Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud)
1:58 Bull‑headed lyre in festival music Historical record · Assyrian lyre, British Museum BM 124928
2:16 Ceramic drums used in rites The Institute's interpretation · Excavation report, Tell al‑Rimah, 1995
2:34 Layered festival music The Institute's interpretation · M. Roaf, *Assyrian Music in the Neo‑Assyrian Period* (2005)
2:52 Statues on golden platforms Historical record · Relief, Nimrud, British Museum BM 124918 (Ashurnasirpal II)
3:01 Incense, Perfume, and Sacred Smell
3:08 Incense, Perfume, and Sacred Smell
3:25 Bronze burner for frankincense Historical record · Bronze incense burner, Louvre AO 19773
3:43 Scented oil recipe for statues Historical record · Cuneiform tablet K. 1240 (Assyrian medical treatise)
4:01 Incense mix burned at sunrise Historical record · Incense Ritual tablet, Ashurbanipal Library, K. 1270
4:19 Temple Rites and Sacred Marriage
4:41 Excavation report, Assur, 2003 The Institute's interpretation · Excavation report, Assur, 2003
5:11 Incense Ritual tablet, Ashurbanipal Library, K. 1270 Historical record · Incense Ritual tablet, Ashurbanipal Library, K. 1270
5:41 Ritual of the Sacred Marriage, Nineveh tablet K. 1255 Historical record · Ritual of the Sacred Marriage, Nineveh tablet K. 1255

Sources

Historical record: Sennacherib's Prism (Taylor Prism) · Royal Library tablet K. 1235 (Ashurbanipal) · Administrative tablet from Nineveh, K. 1260 · Palace relief, British Museum BM 124917 (Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud) · Assyrian lyre, British Museum BM 124928 · Relief, Nimrud, British Museum BM 124918 (Ashurnasirpal II) · Bronze incense burner, Louvre AO 19773 · Cuneiform tablet K. 1240 (Assyrian medical treatise) · Incense Ritual tablet, Ashurbanipal Library, K. 1270 · Nabu Festival tablet, British Museum BM 124945 · Ritual of the Sacred Marriage, Nineveh tablet K. 1255

The Institute's interpretation: Excavation report, Tell al‑Rimah, 1995 · M. Roaf, *Assyrian Music in the Neo‑Assyrian Period* (2005) · Excavation report, Assur, 2003

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 218 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (5) — the next things to make

Workers loading sacks of barley and baskets of dates onto carts that roll toward the city gates.
Workers loading sacks of barley and baskets of dates onto carts that roll toward the city gates.
Tablet text being read, followed by artisans grinding myrrh and cedar into oil in a clay bowl.
Scribes seated on low stools chanting, surrounded by rising incense in a vaulted library.
Branches laden with spring blossoms are woven across the courtyard arches, signaling the festive atmosphere of the seasonal rite.