Agatha Christie and Nimrud

[@jessemiller7540]

Great episode!

[@memorarenz]

Great stuff. Big Christie fan

[@Bildgesmythe]

Thank you. I always loved Agatha Christie.

[@hoominwifquats]

Fascinating as always, thanks for sharing such a variety of sights and information. Your willingness to answer questions is appreciated too, the extra depth is a great feature of your channel. You're one of the very few sites I signed up for notifications on because new content from you is always a genuine highlight of the day.

[@artifactuallyspeaking]

Thanks so much! I was supposed to be back in the field now, but the situation in the Middle East has caused us to delay. I still have some content to release, though, and will be creating what I can without being in the field.

[@williamharris8367]

This was an interesting change of pace; I very much enjoyed it. Thank-you.

[@jackdaniel4446]

This is such a strange confluence of historical events, all coming together. The truly ancient city of Nimrud, the work of a famous author, and the work of an infamous organisation all held together in such a small space. We think of history as being a series of discrete events "this, then this, then this", but it's stories like this that make you realise that everything is interconnected. through learning the history of one thing, say Agatha Christie, you learn of modern terrorism and ancient civilisation, and doubtless much more besides. It amazes me that professionals such as yourself can remain focused on a specific subject when there are so many rabbit holes around you to get lost in. Thank you so much for all of these videos, I always learn something new and interesting.

[@pattheplanter]

Don't forget that the political situation during Mallowan's time in Iraq was very weird, with the British meddling with, fighting and then meddling again with the locals. Clumsy British meddling played a large part in the subsequent misery in the Middle East.

[@KasumiRINA]

​@@pattheplanter and now the russians are trying to cosplay 18th century British mixed with 1940s Germans, as the result cities that outlived Babylon, Romans, Mongols, and two World Wars, being carpet bombed to the ground by the trio of russia, assad and ayatollah's goons.

[@lastofmygeneration]

Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@KasumiRINA]

I just rewatched the old Peter Ustinov version of Death on the Nile, it has some gorgeous views, and I remember quite a few Poirot and Mrs. Marple stories set at dig sites. Only recently learned that the whole cliche of detective hanging out with archeologists was from Agatha herself.

[@jupite1888]

Very interesting, Thanks

[@neko-chan6145]

This was so interesting! Thanks

[@richardvanasse9287]

You should leave a plaque in the house telling about who lived there. So that someday far into the future when some archeologist is digging up the site they will know that an archeologist lived there. Or maybe a time capsule with an Agatha Christie book in it.

[@nyarparablepsis872]

She used her face cream?! I dimly remember the handling objects workshop at a museum I worked at, where it was emphasised that the various oils on human skin are not good for artifacts (I bet you are familiar with the "tourist grooves" where way too many visitors touch objects). Didn't that do anything to the ivory? Would face cream be a valid choice for modern digs?

[@artifactuallyspeaking]

Face cream as a cleaner is not a choice for modern digs. Conservators today are very conscious of the sorts of materials they use to preserve ancient objects, but in the past it was not so exact a science. I'm not sure what it did to the ivories. In the short term it made them look good, and I think they're still intact, but perhaps when they got to the museum they were treated with something else to stabilize them.

[@allangardiner2515]

What a wonderful report. Thank you. Your observations about recently derelict mud brick buildings meant that you even rescued something from the despicable destructiveness of DAESH

[@KasumiRINA]

At first I though you meant Egyptian goddess Isis blew something up in some legend but then was OH, THE SAND RUSKIES! You do make those daesh sound almost as destructive as russians. I don't think there's this many rocks left in Avdiivka tho... It legitimately looks more destroyed than these ancient ruins. Not a stone unturned. Hiroshima looked better after a nuke.