150 years ago, a young George Smith made headlines around the world. He had pieced together an Akkadian version of the Flood story found on fragments of clay tablets. Who was Smith, and why did his discovery have such a dramatic impact? What happened to him next? And what is his legacy? We're joined by guests Sophus Helle, Gareth Brereton, Strahil Panayotov, and Enrique Jimenez. 2:46Smith finds a marvel 10:24who was Smith? 14:26the fateful 3rd expedition 17:26the mysterious Mr Mathewson 20:58Carchemish and the Hittites 25:50quarantine! 27:44to Aleppo by horse 33:50a tragic end 38:10Mathewson's career 39:35Smith's family and legacy 42:33Smith's notebooks The sad story of Boscawen can be found in Ruth Horry’s “Assyriology at the Margins. The Case of William St. Chad Boscawen (1855–1913)” in IRAQ 77 (2015) pp. 129-142 You can read more about the Egibit tablets in Strahil V. Panayotov and Cornelia Wunsch, "New Light on George Smith’s Purchase of the Egibi Archive in 1876 from the Nachlass Mathewson", in: Melammu: The Ancient World in an Age of Globalization (2014) Music by Ruba Hillawi Website: http://wedgepod.org YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgw Email: [email protected] Twitter: @wedge_pod Patreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod