You are looking at cuneiform, one of the earliest types of writing. It developed from 3200 BC in the region now called the Middle East. It’s on a tablet which was used to stamp King Nebuchadnezzar’s name on to mud bricks used in royal buildings. He was the powerful ruler of Babylon (modern-day Iraq) in the sixth century BC.
Through this tablet, an ancient king can communicate with us today. Methods of communication have changed hugely since Nebuchadnezzar’s time. Compare this ancient tablet to the old telephone in our exhibition or your own mobile device – which might be a modern tablet!
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