The First Ghosts: A rich history of ancient ghosts and ghost stories from the British Museum curator

by Irving Finkel

After these first heady days, the scientific aims of archaeology steadily broadened out in every direction; the Mesopotamian archaeologist today commands very extensive and diverse data, and is increasingly concerned with the everyday living conditions of the population at large, over many sites and periods. The reach of these sites stretches from remote prehistoric settlements that preserved the most ancient of lifestyles to bustling and sophisticated cities that, in many ways, anticipated those of the Middle East today. Understanding of daily life three thousand years ago, combining archaeology with inscriptions, can be sometimes astonishing in its detail. Ghosts are part of all this.