Adventures with the Royal Game of Ur

This extraordinary board game, played for three thousand years over half the ancient world with unceasing enjoyment, has bewitched Irving Finkel of the British Museum since boyhood. Due to his extensive research of an ancient cuneiform tablet containing the original rules, we can see why the game endured. In this illustrated talk, Dr. Finkel describes some of the remarkable discoveries and heart-thumping adventures of a lifetime’s fascination.

Above image: The Royal Game of Ur, 2600 BC, south Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). Dark grey stone gaming counter with five inlaid white spots; circular. © Trustees of the British Museum