This paper, which was read before the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London on Decmber 3rd, 1872, caused a sensation. George Smith (1840-76), an engraver by trade, was self-educated in Biblical and Near Eastern archeaology, mostly by studying the exhibits at the British Museum. He joined the museum as a 'repairer', piecing together fragments of tablets from Ninevah, a job which he excelled at. In 1886 he was appointed Assistant, and in 1871 he published The Phonetic Values of the Cuneiform Characters, a key reference work for reading Assyrian.

This paper, which was read before the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London on Decmber 3rd, 1872, caused a sensation. George Smith (1840-76), an engraver by trade, was self-educated in Biblical and Near Eastern archeaology, mostly by studying the exhibits at the British Museum. He joined the museum as a 'repairer', piecing together fragments of tablets from Ninevah, a job which he excelled at. In 1886 he was appointed Assistant, and in 1871 he published The Phonetic Values of the Cuneiform Characters, a key reference work for reading Assyrian.

This paper, which was read before the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London on Decmber 3rd, 1872, caused a sensation. George Smith (1840-76), an engraver by trade, was self-educated in Biblical and Near Eastern archeaology, mostly by studying the exhibits at the British Museum. He joined the museum as a 'repairer', piecing together fragments of tablets from Ninevah, a job which he excelled at. In 1886 he was appointed Assistant, and in 1871 he published The Phonetic Values of the Cuneiform Characters, a key reference work for reading Assyrian.