Talk by Nicla De Zorzi – Invited talk at the Institut für Altertumwissenschaften of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

http://www.altorientalistik.uni-wuerzburg.de/aktuelles/meldungen/single/news/vortrag-divination-in-mesopotamien-do-472019/

Abstract: Šumma ḫašû is an ancient Mesopotamian divinatory composition dealing with the peculiarities of the lungs of a sacrificial sheep. This composition represents the ninth chapter of a divinatory series concerning both various parts of the entrails and specific ominous features observed on the exta which became known in the first millennium BCE as bārûtu (“Art of the Seer”). The first part of my talk will focus on the technical terminology used by ancient diviners to describe the various parts and features of the lungs. In the second part of my talk I will give an overview on the current state of reconstruction and interpretation of Šumma ḫašû.