The Archives of Ebla. An Empire inscribed on clay

Description

Pettinato was writing this book as the dust settles so to speak. It was published only a few years after the archive library was discovered at Tell Mardikh, Syria where he served as the mission's epigrapher. Pettinato claims he is not offering any conclusions about the find, only uncertainties. Reading through it though he does seems to be offering conclusions which are obvious according to the texts.This work largely defines the importance of this "bomb-shell" literary find for the study of the Ancient Near East. For example, it was not believed that Canaanites existed at this level of civilization that early in history. Their level of literacy was thought to be non-existent, yet we found the oldest encyclopedias, bilingual dictionaries, and even evidence that international gatherings of scribes converged on Ebla to advance their collective knowledge. Some of the largest finds are contributions in the form of bilingual dictionaries that greatly advance our knowledge of Sumerian as well as aid us in better understanding its pronounciation.