In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 44-year-old Jeremiah Peterson makes painstaking incisions on clay tablets, writing messages in Sumerian, the world’s oldest known language.
The Assyriologist has been honing his craft of inscribing cuneiform on to clay tablets for the past six years, working from his home in the US Midwest — almost 12,000 kilometres away from Mesopotamia where the language originated.
After studying ancient Egyptian as an undergraduate and spending summers in Greece and Egypt on museum tours and at ancient sites, Mr Peterson discovered a new passion.
He completed his graduate degree in Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania, which has a large collection of cuneiform tablets excavated from the ancient city of Nippur, in modern-day Iraq’s Al Qadisiyyah governorate.
“It was incredibly fun for me to read these tablets and reconstruct some of them back together,” Mr Peterson tells The National.
“It kind of feels like making history out of thin air when you make a significant join.
“Clay tablets tend to break, so there are many pieces to put back together, like a never-ending jigsaw puzzle.”
Mr Peterson started making tablets to learn about the process of writing in clay “so I could make more informed statements about cuneiform writing in my publications”.
Once he learnt the language, he began experimenting with different formats, but soon discovered just how difficult the art of writing on clay is.
“Just think if every page of a book had to be made from something much thicker than a piece of paper,” he says.
In addition, the messages on ancient cuneiform tablets are typically written using extremely small letters due to storage constraints.
And without any formal ceramics training, the entire process of learning how to make tablets themselves was a difficult one for Mr Peterson.
After finally getting the hang of it, however, he decided to share his talent with the world, setting up a store on the popular e-commerce platform Etsy.
“I started selling them on Etsy for a supplementary income. Cuneiform writing on clay is naturally beautiful and compelling in a way that has to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated,” he says.
Mr Peterson sells about 250 pieces a year, with items costing between $15 and $90.
His buyers are a diverse group, including academics as well as ordinary people who enjoy the aesthetics of these ancient replicas.
“Sometimes my customers are interested in using cuneiform art to decorate their professional space or homes. Some of my erotic poetry pieces are given to significant others as gifts.”
His work has also been featured in academic institutions.
“I’ve sold pieces to some museums and universities for display and educational purposes.”
The piece Mr Peterson is most proud of is a four-sided brick-shaped text.
“Rather idiosyncratically, it is called a 'prism' by modern Assyriologists.
“It has a famous text called 'Shugi A', where King Shugi of Ur, one of the great luminaries of ancient Mesopotamia, boasts of his footrace from the city of Nippur to the city of Ur, claiming superhuman speed.”
The biggest challenge in making this piece, Mr Peterson says, was making inscriptions on the different sides of the brick while keeping the clay at the right saturation point.
First, he hammers out a clay tablet with a flat piece of wood, cutting edges with various potter’s tools or using a cookie cutter for rounded objects.
“Then I plan out the space of the text I put on it, either by eyeballing it or making a grid: this is a very important step that was clearly emphasised by ancient scribes on many occasions to conserve space,” he says. “Then I incise the signs.”
He even created a YouTube channel showing his method of inscription so audiences can have an idea of the work involved.
As a side project, Mr Peterson is working with a Enrique Jimenez, a scholar at the Ludwig Maximilians Universitat in Munich, to digitise ancient texts into an Assyrian electronic library.
“Thanks to digital photos and databases, I can make joins in the British Museum in my home in Iowa. It is tremendous fun for me.”
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:
- For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
- If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
- Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
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Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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2.
3.
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5.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
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RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
