Deciphering the world's oldest rule book | Irving Finkel | Curator's Corner S1 Ep1 [PILOT]
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- Опубліковано 22 лис 2015
- Irving Finkel has possibly the coolest job in the world - he’s curator of cuneiform at the British Museum!
Since 1979 he’s been trawling the Museum’s 130,000 clay tablets for clues about life in ancient Mesopotamia. In this film, he tells us about a particular tablet he found that contains the rules of a board game - a board game that he’s been obsessed with since childhood!
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It has been a long time in the making, but you can finally bring back the violence and savagery your family gatherings have been missing over the last few 1000 years. The Royal Game of Ur is now back in the shop! And for the first time in the last 2 millennia (not centuries!) you can play the ADVANCED rules. Also, we brought back the drawer! Buy it here: goo.gl/xks84w
We will be making more videos about the game and how it was made in the future. Subscribe and hit the notification bell to make sure you don't miss out. Cheers for all your support.
I will definitely be ordering this next paycheck, thank you
Now this is exciting! Finally I can purchase it!
I bet that 4000 years ago the game didn't cost the equivalent of £99,-. Like that it will never make a comeback!!
Just sell the rulebook without the board. We can build one ourselves. Most likely everybody did back then.
Oh please, I would love to know when it will be back in stock! The website says you are out of them. Should I email or call? Or just wait?
Oh dammit I already bought one from another site a month ago
With the intensity of which he says "I'm going to be one for another 500 years" I fully and absolutely believe him.
hes clearly an immortal wizard
I second that notion for sure :)
He found the right book out of those 130,000 there
@@ixxxxxxx Allah says in the QQoran that every nafs is taster of death, so...
He said it causually ike that's how long his shift is
"I've been one for a very long time and I'm going to be one for another 500 years!" I love this man.
Why did I read that in Donald Trump's voice?
He probably read the cuneiform tablet that teaches him how to do that.
He sounded VERY serious when he said it, too, the mad man. I believe in him though.
Ha! This is EXACTLY what I just said out loud to myself and then I saw your comment :D
Basically nobody has as much access to arcane literature as him, maybe he can
This man is a national treasure, fortunately he is already in the British museum
Hahahha
international*
LOL
World Treasure.
"the next minute they have a fight, and two have been hospitalised. There's a good healthy activity" this man, I swear to god he's a genius. I had to listen to that for like two times, the first time I was like "wait.. what..?"
You gotta look at the bright side. That would make the alcohol exit their body faster, presumably when they got a fist in the torso and send the wines back up.
@@meatballsnacker-sitregald6919 lol
@@meatballsnacker-sitregald6919 i saw another bright side : a good fight once in a while is healthy for the mind, it's good to let the reptilian brain express itself sometimes.
This game has a specific balance: if played optimally, or even just reasonably, it strongly favors the player who is losing on points - it's like playing Mario Kart, the ones in the back have it easier. It's perfectly possible to build a 3-point advantage (with first side reaching 7 being the winning condition) and then lose it all on your last point. Plus while it's a primarily a strategy game, luck plays a significant role, and bad rolls - and opponent's good rolls - can really ruin your day. Plus it makes it seemingly quite easy to cheat but even easier to get caught cheating. The effect is it has all the elements needed to get absolutely infuriating.
You are so right, major double take moment there, he just says so...seriously...
You need series number 5: "Dr Finkel Opens Boxes" wherein he wanders around the archive and opens random boxes and tells a story. A bit of personal reminiscing. A bit of "What if". A bit of history. Put that enthusiasm to good use.
Euan Walker Brady Haran and Keith the Librarian are doing that at the Royal Society. It's called Objectivity.
second the bump
I want as many videos as possible before he goes on an extended vacation. Himself is a museum treasure.
I would watch that series for hours upon hours..
Yes!!!
This man is what the magic of archaeology is all about. I wish he could live for 500 years or more. He deserves so, and so does human history. Mr. Irving has a CHA score of 18 at least.
Whats a CHA?
Is that like a Scoville score?
Doesn’t he get 2 ability scores as starting out as human race
Bruh definitely 20 int
too bad the old fuck didn't actually tell us about how the damned thing is played. that's what I came here for. waste of time.
This man spews intelligence, humor, and charisma. What a guy. Can't wait for his next 500 years as a curator to give us more knowledge of days passed!
He is a true wizard
This man is the real treasure in the British museum.
So glad Merlin ended up curating a museum. It just seems appropriate.
I'm also ecstatic about this board game! Thanks, Dr. Merlin!
This is Dumbledore you sexist
@Jacob Peters YOU'RE Doubledoor you plonker.
Omg. Im cracking up. I just wrote that above before seeing your comment
Talk about horribly disrespectful!
Number 1, op. :)
Finkel: "This goes back almost as long as I do."
*Shows the actual 4300-year-old game board*
Me: Yes, Gandalf.
I think he meant the replica he built.
@@mysteryland01 Abort joke.
@ Well, it wasn't a great joke anyway...
@@mysteryland01 it was
:))) nais
I imagine him as a child saying "I could be a curator, I'd be great at curating, I'd be The Great Curator"
Edit: I forgot about this comment and suddenly it has over 700 likes, thanks whovians
"Welcome to the exhibit!"
I get this reference
Clara Chernaya Doctor who?
"You know, I really think you might."
Galeyfrey falls..no more 😊
Does anyone else genuinely hope this man DOES stick around for another 500 years?
I would love to sit down and have a full conversation with this man. He seems so interesting and full of personality!
+Louise Ainge same, and also over a game of that
It's the wacky hair and beard.
Same. What an incredible gentleman. My only fear is that, for a gentleman with all his knowledge and wisdom, I might be a bit too boring of a person to have an engaging conversation with.
I would love to paint this man! . . and he can talk while I paint
@@saundrayork767 now that would be great viewing, a bit like Ahn Do's brush with fame www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/anhs-brush-with-fame/
ua-cam.com/video/HNI6aRwXFwY/v-deo.html
Irving is a proper legend. He was THE most helpful and inspiring curator that I interviewed for my MA dissertation. Love Curators' Corner.
I concur with your sentiment 100%
Australia.
Thank you, Dr Finkel, you were so kind about my "mark 1" hanging gardens of Babylon", they're still not finished because I could never decide how to finish the bottom register but I finally decided to do it with 2 of Ishtar's lions facing each other, snarling, of course
@@margaretrochester6513 is Babylon in modern Iraq?
@@tiestokygoericprydz3963 The city of Babylon is located quite close to Baghdad, close enough that Baghdad is partially built over the ruins of the ancient city
And the American military filled the sandbags to create helicopter landing pads with swathes of unexcavated Babylon 🤦😱😭 what treasures have been lost,we shall never know.
I can't express how happy watching this man makes me. THIS is what Human Beings are capable of. Uninhibited curiosity that brings a magical perspective on anything. Watching Irving always makes me love the world a little more, with a little tear in my eye.
Irving Finkel is one of my favorite people to listen to, may he inspire generations of curators just like him
This series and Love Objects are standouts, but really Irving Finked should have his own series, and range of merchandise, ... and a BBC documentary. He should also enter the Bake Off, and possibly Dancing on Ice - essentially I believe that all Video in all formats across all channels would benefit from a sprinkle of the twinkly Finkel.
He may be a little too open-minded and subversive for BBC though??
It's very odd he didn't make it to a meme yet
I can't imagine anything more hideous than watching such a wonderful and talented man demeaning himself in such a degrading manner. He deserves to be given a series on a subject of his own choice, where, like he does in his UA-cam videos,he can speak passionately, knowledgeably and humorously to the camera without gimmick and crudity. As David Attenborough does.
What an absolutely intriguing person this man is.
Mad as a brush! I love this geezer! I also envy his Nirvanic happiness, a happiness reflected by the enthusiasm he exudes on this video.
I just have to say that when I was a kid aged 9 or 10, I and my classmate used to get what was called a Range Rover bus pass (if memory serves) to go up town to visit the British Museum (Times were more innocent back in the sixties!). I fell in love with the Egyptian artifacts. I fell in love with everything to do with Ancient Egypt then; especially Egyptian mythology. Don't get me wrong, I still loved to play football and lark about. But The British Museum was, for me, a place of exquisite wonder. The Rosetta Stone (or rather its facsimile) in the main foyer was a terrific sight.
I was also lucky enough in my early twenties to get a job as a betting shop manager in New Oxford Street which was around the corner from the museum. My last visit there was over twenty-five years ago when I took my family up there. Unfortunately while in the Egyptian Room (of course!), there was a bomb scare and there was a bloody lock-down!. After about 45 minutes, the great big doors were re-opened followed by a mad rush to the toilets!
All in all I have happy memories. I should pop up there again sometime.
Thank you, Dr Finkel.
I really want him to be around for another 5 hundred years.
Agreed.
I KNOW RIGHT
Just the kind of person you can listen to for hours talk about anything.
Irving, you're the coolest dude ever. I hope you really live for 500 more years.
"... having a fight and two of them are in hospital...good, healthy activity..."" That killed me XD
can I please like this video more than once?
+Michael Roszkowski yes, yes you can. But please create another account and like it that way rather than just liking it and then taking it back and then liking it again. If you choose that method, no one wins.
how is the game played
Michael Roszkowski
Pppppppppppp
I'm telling! That would be violating the sacred terms and conditions of youtube that were discovered written in binary on silicon wafers circa 2003 C.E at a site in ancient silicon valley california..
***** like this ua-cam.com/video/WZskjLq040I/v-deo.html
Irving Finkle is my new favorite human
Same here
@Isaak Groen prolly nebuchadnezzar
You must never stop making videos.
Yeah, lichdom isn't as bad as it's chalked up to be anyways.
Nah, in some 200 years the video format will be totally obsolete and he's free to switch to brain transmissions or whatever takes over.
IRVING, my PhD program was REVERSED.
With 2 MA and 1 PhD degrees under my belt, I was off to the University of Oklahoma to get a 2nd PhD in cuneiform.
I paid my money and a week later I was told that the professor was staying in Baghdad instead of coming home to the US. The university would not refund the money, of course. The History Department had no one involved with Ancient History. I was a lone duck!
They made up a 'bridge' subject. "The Barbaric Invasion of the Roman Empire and the Establishment of the Catholic church". Inwardly I laughed. I am not Catholic. But, make do with the situation of which you have stepped into. It was very interesting and most importantly it did teach me a totally different way of research. My first PhD was Ancient Literature, a vastly different approach.
Your lectures are fantastic.
I search to find more from you.
Thank you for being so humorous in deep studies. It makes it thrilling.
This man is absolutely MARVELOUS
This has to be the winner! Make this man an internet sensation!
I love this! Being introduced to individual objects makes the British Museum so accessible for us (the public!). This is so interesting. Thank you Dr Finkel.
This man is magical. I love him and his energy. It's infectious.
his passion brought me to tears ... and I'm happy :')
Just put this good Dr. Irving Finkel in a weekly vlog and your done.... Great episode :)
I agree! I would never want to leave the museum either if I had the keys to the treasures.
This man is just amazing. He sure is a rare person in this time and age.
What a wonderful fellow! Utterly delightful!! A blessing! May he be at out for 500 years! As he suggests. Amazing fellow.
Mr Finkel I LOVE your enthusiasm and love for your work and the history. Inspiring!
+Feraloidies Don't forget his awesome Beard!
it's a beard. hmmff. I would watch this show for his knowledge and love.
Feraloidies dàhir
calasow
Doctor Finkel ;)
I made this game for my kids when they were young. We worked out a set of rules based on what was known at the time. I added an extra twist in that when you jumped off the board you entered the underworld. To get out you had to roll the magical number 7. Of course this made the game endless but kids don't care too much about those kinds of details as long as it's fun.
I find Dr. Finkel's work on the tablets particularly interesting as I enjoy mesopotamian myth, legend & history very much.
wiskadjak What am awesome dad!
Yeah, I'd love if my dad skipped his beer glass and played ancient board games with me! This is so precious :)))
Well, considering this set of dice only allows rolling 0-4, I'd say yes, quite endless.
I can't help but feel the dear Dr's enthusiasm and essentially love for the place he's so humbly worked and played his entire life.
It must be wonderful being able too be around all those ancient artifacts everyday. Im so glad I found this channel its really, really interesting and very educational. 👍
Brought tears to my eyes, the passion of the man, his love of research into ancient history. Have to watch it twice.
I wanna be a curator just from that speech.
What an interesting person!
Would be fun to go to the British Museum.
Should make a note for when I'm eventually visiting GB.
Mr. Finkel you are a fantastic and brilliant person
I could listen to Irving Finkel for 10 hours straight without becoming bored.
Dr. Finkel is by far one of the most interesting lecturers I've ever listened to. He makes the information so very interesting keeping you in stitches all the while. I don't remember what I was watching before, but the doctor's program about the Ark came on. I had not been paying a lot of attention to what I had on before, but I rewound to the beginning & listened to every word of his lecture. He is amazing to listen to even if you're not interested in the subject. My 15 yr old g'son started listening & chuckling. He had barely heard of Cuneiform, Assyria and most definitely a coracle.
SMITTEN!!!! this man needs his own series.
I want to be Dr. Finkel when I grow up!
I think the trick is not to grow up.
Bernard Finucane not grow up a slave....he grew up working his dream.
This.
We all want to meet your sister Angela.
Wonderful to imagine two youngsters at play, recreating a moment that occurred thousands of years ago.
Mr. Finkle. I’m just a little old man, worked as a blacksmith and woodwright for the state of Indiana, USA,, and I’d have to say, and it’s sort of weird to say it, but love you. For those next 500 years, please stay awesome.
This is bloody brilliant, more of the same please
This is the most carismatic channel because of the true love of it's presenter for his work.
Don't let this one drop.
I couldn’t help but smile the whole time he’s so delightful
When I've discovered dept of ancient Mesopotamia, it was as if the time stopped. I wanted to read every description, study each object and day dream about the context in which it was used. I ABSOLUTELY loved the examples picked for the library of Ashurbanipal - I hope they change them up frequently!
I'm hoping they find the very first example of written text, an incredibly ancient piece of clay, and on it in cuneiform: "First!"
MWSin1 Marvellous comment. Simply marvellous.
Probably some pictures on a cave wall. Mountains, guy with spear, deer, bonfire, people eating, other people with spears, dead people....
Hahaha... please do realize that saying FIRST! always implies pre-knowledge of who could/might be first, so BEING ACTUALLY first, one would never even THINK TO SAY IT!
it would be kind of depressing if it said "hello world"
@@canalsoloparaverunvideodem8451 ♪programmed to work and not to feel♪
♪not even sure that this is reeal♪
♪hello world♪
Irving Finkel is a guy I would love to talk with for hours - make it days or months! Seriously, an amazing person!
I love this man so much. I could listen to his stories all day long and never get tired of it. I'd like him to pick out a random item and tell me the story behind it. So fascinating
This chap is just cracking.
You can just see and feel that he is loving what he does. And his slight but cracking humor is the cherry on the top.
No words.
Would like to shake his hand ones.
Enthusiasm is addictive. If only it could be bottled and purchased!
*Capitalistic thoughts* have entered the chat
What a brilliant man, so very interesting and amusing. I'm sure you have many wonderful curators to feature, but I'd love to see more of him.
Absolutely fabulous. When I was a boy I would go up to the V&A, the British Museum, the War Museum, The Natural History Museum and spend many, many hours just looking and reading. The information and the entertainment of poking about and studying is absolutely endless. I thank you very much for this offering, one could never be bored when surrounded by historic knowledge/beauty/discovery. I think it was Samuel Johnson who said, "A man who is tired of London is tired of life." The museums alone inspire those words. Easy to see why London commands such huge costs in housing.....unfortunately I can no longer afford to live there.
I've enjoyed Irving Finkel in the past, but I find myself astounded by how touching I find this video. His enthusiasm is what humanities are all about. He brings out the humanity represented by these astonishing objects.
I think this one is the best one.
This man is a mage of knowledge.
I see what you did there....You call him mage because....because he plays games like a wizard right?? Couldn't think of another reason.
No. He plays games like a mage.
This man always makes me smile. Such enthusiasm is infectious.
Thank you so much, honestly for the job you've done. It truly warms my heart, being able to remember now.
Oh my he is beyond wonderful. I could listen to him forever! ❤️
Definitely worth a subscriber. I hope I'm hear for another 500 years to carry on watching too!
Plot, the word is here
Absolutely charming! Thanks for sharing! - I have a nephew-in-law who told us that he was furious with one of his sisters because she went to England, visited London, of course, and did not visit the British Museum! He said to her: "If you didn't visit the British Museum, you didn't visit London! Now, I know why. A great place to work. Thanks again for sharing your story. I will get in touch with my nephew-in-law and recommend your corner to him and his sister. Best to you.
This is extremely cool that Mr. Finkel made this board when he was young only to translate the tablet that had the rules. Really awesome.
I want to hear Mr. Finkel explain every single tablet.
That guy's beard is awesome
That beard gives him magic powers.
Dumbledore?
but also lopsided, and it's driving me nuts
It needs a shape up
it's cobwebs !
Fantastic story about your board game replica that you made as a child. Your lifelong love of archeological objects is infectious & just makes your viewers want to know more. Congratulations on living your dream!
Irv, you are amazing! Thank you for posting this. I have had a similar passion for museums in general even though certain ones have special place in my heart all my life. The way that you characterize big hurt it away at closing time is a perfect description. I hope you do when best video in curators corner!
This is wonderful!
love this guy! will be making my own board and keeping this game alive
I’ve played this game for over 40 years, first with my Dad and now heated matches with my kids. In fact it may be partially the reason I studied archaeology and became a museum curator so thank you Irving!
500 years more of this wonder- full gentleman ........ yes please ! Truely fascinating , thankyou :)
After shooting the video he quietly opened a portal and returned to his home in the Discworld universe.
Dr. Irving Finkel. An instant Internet Legend, surely?
I find this curator’s passion and dedication to his subject so inspiring!
More from Mr Finkel please. He's wonderful to listen to, and I love his enthusiasm for his passions.
No doubt the best series!
Tempted to make my own board for this game and try it out
me too. on amazon they sell for like $50 :lllll
@@jacobpeters5458
You mean the version from Wood Expressions with those borders around the squares? I want a version without those borders so I'm also playing with the idea of making one.
I drew it on a piece of paper, it doesn't look good, but it was cheap and it took me like half a minute. It's really fun to play
This is fascinating! Thank you so much.
This man is a marvel, it feels so good how positive he talks about the things he is dedicated to
This guy seems like the epitome of a wise old man. And what he said about museums is so true. A museum shouldn't make you want to leave, you should be totally enthralled, and it's men like Irving who help make them so enthralling. Godspeed!
Love this. More please!
This is such a wonderful video - Thank you!
Irving must be the winning video! His knowledge and passion is inspirational and utterly infectious. I cannot tell you how fascinating I find every word he says.
The production quality of this video is great - the background music works well, the intro sequence is perfect, and the speaker is articulate and interesting. Please keep doing this series!
+Ryan Gourley I found the music a major irritant, but otherwise loved it.
Very good video and quite interesting that the someone during the late-Babylonian period had the need and took the time to prepare such a Rules tablet. I hope your next video will show close-ups of the tablet with some explanation of the cuneiform inscription. Thank you, Irving.
It was someone in Babylon sending the rules to someone in Greece.
This video just made my day! This guy is delightful!
A national treasure in charge of national treasures. Irving Finkel is what makes Great Britain GREAT! What a wonderful example to us all.
I would definitely watch this if it was made as a regular series.
Definitely this one. This is awesome.
Dr. Finkel, this is absolutely positively a fantastic video of you!
Terrific raconteur. I could listen to this Prof all day and all night.....
This is the best show idea, if it's consistently well-executed I'd love to watch it.
I could listen to this dude chat all day.
IRVING FINKEL where have you been all my life! You have me hooked on all things in the Curator’s Corner. I hope to visit the UK once again to be mesmerized and the last out the door of the British Museum.
Absolutely fantastic !