AI learns to read cuneiform: A milestone for Ancient Near Eastern Studies
The new AI tool “Palaeographicum” is revolutionizing research into the cultures of the Ancient Near East: It identifies individual variations of cuneiform signs—a huge step forward for academia.
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"In the three millennia before the common era, a highly developed civilization flourished in the Near East, leaving behind a wealth of information: on clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform. In this writing system, wedge-shaped characters were pressed with a stylus into moist clay tablets, which were then dried—resulting in a durable written document.
Most clay tablets have broken over time, and their fragments are scattered across museums around the world. Ancient Near Eastern Studies therefore faces a complex task: it must correctly piece the fragments back together. Only then is it possible to read the complete documents and gain insights into life in the Ancient Near East.
Researchers at the University of Würzburg and the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz have been working on this for many years. Their focus is on the culture of the Hittites, who lived in what is now Anatolia 3,500 years ago. This people’s “alphabet” is extensive: it consists of no fewer than 375 cuneiform signs, which represent syllables as well as entire words."
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Robert Emmerich
