Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisationsThe red tape of government bureaucracy spans more than 4,000 years, according to new finds from the cradle of the world’s civilisations, Mesopotamia.Hundreds of administrative tablets – the earliest physical evidence of the first empire in recorded history – have been discovered by archaeologists from the British Museum and Iraq. These texts detail the minutiae of government and reveal a complex bureaucracy – the red tape of an ancient civilisation. Continue reading...
Archaeologists discovered hundreds of 4,000-year-old administrative tablets in Girsu, Iraq, providing the earliest physical evidence of the Akkadian Empire's complex bureaucracy. These tablets, detailing government minutiae, reveal the "spreadsheets of empire" and illustrate the imperial control exerted by Sargon after conquering Sumerian cities. The finds, a collaboration between the British Museum and the Iraqi government, are being studied further in Baghdad.
