Sumeromania: The History of the British Museum's Girsu Collection

Sumeromania uncovers the dramatic and complex story behind one of the British Museum’s most important holdings: its vast collection of objects from the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu (modern Tello, Iraq). From statues of rulers to thousands of cuneiform tablets, these artifacts entered the museum during a period of fierce competition among empires, archaeologists, and dealers.

Drawing on an extraordinary archive of correspondence, reports, and trustees’ minutes, the book reconstructs how the...