Yale Babylonian Collection, Mesopotamian artifacts collection at Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven, US
The Yale Babylonian Collection is a repository of more than 45,000 objects from ancient Mesopotamia, encompassing cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and other artifacts from Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian civilizations. The holdings range from everyday documents to literary works and mathematical texts spanning different periods of Mesopotamian history.
The collection was founded in 1911 with support from financier J.P. Morgan, who acquired significant Mesopotamian objects for the university. In 2017, it was integrated into the Division of Anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum, marking a major reorganization of its institutional home.
The collection displays early literary works and texts, including writings by the priestess Enheduanna, one of the oldest known authors. Visitors can engage with the thoughts and words of these ancient figures and understand how people thousands of years ago recorded their stories.
The collection is housed in Sterling Memorial Library and typically requires appointments to view, as not all holdings are open to the public. Visitors should contact the library in advance to arrange access and learn which objects can be examined.
The collection preserves some of the oldest known culinary recipes recorded on clay and also holds a mathematical tablet showing that Babylonians performed complex calculations. This mathematical tablet contains computations of the square root of two, revealing advanced mathematical knowledge more than 3,500 years ago.
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