Researchers from the National Museum and the University of Copenhagen have deciphered over 4,000-year-old clay tablets, uncovering magic spells, royal records, and everyday bureaucracy from ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. The texts include rare anti-witchcraft rituals protecting Assyrian kings and a regnal list hinting at the historical existence of King Gilgamesh. One tablet even records a simple receipt for beer.
For more than a century, Denmark's National Museum has housed a collection of cuneiform tablets from early civilizations in modern-day Iraq and Syria. These artifacts, dating back over 4,000 years, use the world's oldest writing system to document everything from royal decisions to daily transactions. As part of the 'Hidden Treasures: The National Museum's Cuneiform Collection' project, researchers have now analyzed, identified, and digitized the entire collection for the first time, led by Nicole Brisch of the University of Hamburg and Anne Haslund Hansen of the National Museum. The project receives support from the Carlsberg Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, and the Edubba Foundation. The tablets reveal a diverse range of content, including letters, accounting records, medical instructions, and magical texts. A standout group originates from the ancient Syrian city of Hama, destroyed by Assyrian forces in 720 BC. Assyriologist Troels Pank Arbøll, part of the project, noted that these nearly 3,000-year-old texts from a temple library include medical treatments and incantations. One Hama tablet details a rare anti-witchcraft ritual crucial for Assyrian royal authority. Performed overnight by an exorcist reciting incantations while burning wax and clay figures, it aimed to avert misfortunes like political instability. Arbøll explained, “One of the clay tablets turned out to contain a so-called anti-witchcraft ritual, which was of enormous importance to the royal authority in Assyria because it had the remarkable ability to ward off misfortunes -- such as political instability -- that might befall a king.” Other finds include a regnal list of rulers from the late 3rd millennium BC, predating the biblical Flood and potentially linked to the legendary Gilgamesh. Arbøll described it as “one of the few relics we have that suggests Gilgamesh may have actually existed. We had no idea we had a copy of that list here in Denmark. It is quite spectacular.” Tablets from Tell Shemshara in northern Iraq around 1800 BC show correspondence between local leaders and Assyrian kings, alongside inventories and personnel lists. Arbøll highlighted the bureaucracy, adding that one tablet contains “something as commonplace as a very old receipt for beer.”