BISI

Dr Mary Shepperson on Najaf Above and Below: The Vanishing Old Town and its Subterranean Counterpart YouTube video by The British Institute for the Study of Iraq

Thank you to all who attended our Annual February Lecture

And a very special thank you to Dr @mshepps.bsky.social
for an enriching and enlightening lecture on 'Najaf Above & Below: The Vanishing Old Town & its Subterranean Counterpart

You can now watch the lecture here: youtu.be/myvo6ZU-wBY?...

- The British Institute for the Study of Iraq The BISI is the UK’s only institution dedicated to advancing the research and public education on Iraq, with an exclusive focus on Iraq’s cultural heritage.

Call for Papers: Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions

Investigating the Ottoman Empire as a dynamic web of circulation in which people, objects, & ideas continually reshaped the imperial fabric

Symposium, 13-14 April 2026, Istanbul

Deadline: 23 Jan 2026
www.bisi.ac.uk/news-events/...

Historic traditional houses in Basra's Old City

Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid on The Princess and the “Key”: Archaeology in Ancient Mesopotamia YouTube video by The British Institute for the Study of Iraq

Thank you to all who attended our Annual Mallowan Lecture.

And a very special thank you to the fantastic Dr @moudhy.bsky.social for delivering such an insightful and eye-opening lecture on Archaeology in Ancient Mesopotamia

You can now watch the lecture here: youtu.be/0dB-Pxs_lMA?...

- The British Institute for the Study of Iraq The BISI is the UK’s only institution dedicated to advancing the research and public education on Iraq, with an exclusive focus on Iraq’s cultural heritage.

We’re hiring!

Join BISI as a part-time Administrative Assistant and help support our work advancing knowledge of Iraq’s history, society and culture.

Apply by 9 Dec 2025: www.bisi.ac.uk/news-events/...

All applicants must be currently based in Iraq and should demonstrate how a scholarship in the UK will strengthen the research and cultural heritage environment in Iraq.

Projects should focus on the history, society & culture of Iraq from earliest times until the present. We welcome applications from scholars involved in: anthropology; archaeology; history; geography; languages; & other areas in the arts, humanities, & social sciences

Visiting Iraqi Scholarship Scheme BISI works to advance research and public education about Iraq in all of the arts, humanities and social sciences subjects, and enables exchange and collaboration between UK and Iraqi academics.

We are delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for our Visiting Iraqi Scholarship Programme

Annual Deadline: 1 December

For more information and to apply: www.bisi.ac.uk/grants-schol...

Please join us in congratulating the research team and everyone involved in bringing this important work to fruition.

New evidence for Pleistocene hominin presence in the north-east Arabian Desert, Iraq | Antiquity | Cambridge Core New evidence for Pleistocene hominin presence in the north-east Arabian Desert, Iraq

Delighted to announce the publication of 'New evidence for Pleistocene hominin presence in the north-east Arabian Desert, Iraq' by Dr's Ella Egberts, Jaafar Jotheri, and Andreas Nymark

Funded by the BISI Pilot Project Grant

@amgc-vub.bsky.social

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Outreach Grants BISI works to advance research and public education about Iraq in all of the arts, humanities and social sciences subjects, and enables exchange and collaboration between UK and Iraqi academics.

We are now inviting applications for our Outreach Grants (up to £1000). Grants support public or academic engagement projects and events that promote a greater understanding of Iraq's history, society, & culture.

Deadline: 1st October 2025

More info and to apply: www.bisi.ac.uk/grants-schol...

as there are problems with the excavation records, and other explanations for the collection. However, one thing it does offer is insights into ancient interest in an even more ancient past, and possibly even some attempts at early archaeology.

C. Leonard Woolley, the lead excavator at Ur for most of the seasons, called that cylindrical tablet the earliest known museum label, and hence the key to the meaning of the collection of objects as an ancient museum. However, these claims can and should be called into question,

There, objects from much earlier eras were found on the Neo-Babylonian layer of the palace, supposedly in a single room, together with a “key” that unlocked the meaning of the collection — a cylindrical clay tablet that described another object in the room and noted that it was there “for viewing”.

This talk will look at a curious collection of objects at the centre of her new book, Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History. These objects were found in the palace of a princess named Ennigaldi-Nanna in the city of Ur dated to the 6th century BCE.

- The British Institute for the Study of Iraq We fund and organise public lectures, study days, and other public events in London, elsewhere in the UK, and Iraq.

Please join us for our Annual November Lecture on Wed 19 November, 6pm, at The British Academy, for what promises to be a fascinating evening

@moudhy.bsky.social will be speaking on The Princess & the “Key”: Archaeology in Ancient Mesopotamia

Register here: www.bisi.ac.uk/event/lectur...

‘It’s destruction disguised as progress’: how the oil industry is sucking Iraq’s ancient wetlands dry Hawizeh’s wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the water

‘It’s destruction disguised as progress’: how the oil industry is sucking Iraq’s ancient wetlands dry

Hawizeh’s wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the water

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Türkiye returns cuneiform tablets to Iraq Six cuneiform tablets dating back to the Third Ur, Old Akkadian and Old Babylonian periods were handed over to Iraqi authorities during a ceremony in Ankara

Türkiye returns cuneiform tablets to Iraq

www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkiye-retu...

Archaeologists uncover 1.5-million-year-old hand axes in Iraqi desert Archaeologists have made a breakthrough in Iraq’s Western Desert, where 7 Paleolithic sites have been discovered comprising over 850 stone tools

BISI funded Pilot Project leads to Archaeologists uncovering 1.5-million-year-old hand axes in Iraqi desert

archaeologymag.com/2025/02/1-5-...

Faith in crisis: Water, ritual, and resilience among Iraq’s Mandaeans

www.soas.ac.uk/about/blogs/...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Nahrein Network Knowledge Sharing Webinar . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Please join us for the Nahrein Network’s final public event, where we will reflect on the outcomes and legacy of eight years of work. The webinar will begin with a presentation of key findings from t...

Join the Nahrein Network's final public event as they reflect on 8 years of impact. A BISI panellist will discuss the Visiting Scholarship Programme, its history, outcomes, and future.

📅 3 July
🕒 3pm
💻 Zoom

Register here:https://ucl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2UPkDyyYTnifa-bRccdUcQ#/registration

How do Iraq and Britain shape one woman s identity? Dalia Al-Dujaili s Babylon, Albion explores the connection Book Club: Published by Saqi Books, 'Babylon, Albion' is a lyrical look at identity, ancestry, and landscapes — from London streets to Baghdad’s date palms

How do Iraq and Britain shape one woman's identity? Dalia Al-Dujaili's Babylon, Albion explores the connection

www.newarab.com/features/how...

'Leave our marshes alone': Iraqis fear oil drilling would destroy fabled wetlands Plans to drill for oil in the protected Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq have galvanised villagers and activists determined to save the mythical wetlands already battered by years of drought.

'Leave our marshes alone': Iraqis fear oil drilling would destroy fabled wetlands

www.france24.com/en/live-news...

@bsrome.bsky.social @bsathens.bsky.social @bilnas.bsky.social @cbrl.bsky.social@thebiaankara.bsky.social @bisi1932.bsky.social , The British Institute in Eastern Africa and The British Institute of Persian Studies

Created by BIRI archivists and researchers drawing on material held in the British International Research Institutes' (BIRI) archives and supported by the @britishacademy.bsky.social funded BIRI Digital Coordination and Strategy project.

From Rome to Ankara, from the Peloponnese to the Levant, we chart these women’s professional achievements, archaeological discoveries and the vibrant networks they formed in a male-dominated field.

Explore our interactive history to learn about the interconnected lives and ground-breaking work of women archaeologists such as Eugénie Sellers Strong, Winifred Lamb, Yusra Al-Ḥaifawiyah and Kathleen Kenyon.

Women transcending boundaries Over a century of scholarship, fieldwork and friendship across the British International Research Institutes

Look out for our digital history of women archaeologists, ‘Women Transcending Boundaries: Over a century of scholarship, fieldwork and friendship across the British International Research Institutes’, on display at the British Academy Summer Showcase, 20-21 June
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/47f5...

Dr Sébastien Rey and Dr Ebru Torun on The Girsu Project in Iraq YouTube video by The British Institute for the Study of Iraq

Thank you to all who attended our May lecture.

And a very special thank you to Dr Sébastien Rey and Dr Ebru Torun for delivering such an insightful lecture on The Girsu Project in Iraq

You can now watch the lecture on the BISI YouTube channel here: youtu.be/lMnj4FAHZuc?...

A paperback copy of Tracing Transitions and Connecting Communities sits in front of a stack of books

New book out now! 🏺Available to order or read online (for free!): Tracing Transitions and Connecting Communities in the Archaeology of Southwest Asia: Papers in Honour of Roger Matthews

www.sidestone.com/books/tracin...