Lecture
Mon 23 Mar
|UCL Institute of Archaeology G06 LT
Dr Frank Simons (Trinity College, Dublin) Burn your way to health and happiness – the ritual and incantation series Šurpu
Time & Location
23 Mar 2026, 18:15 – 19:30 GMT
UCL Institute of Archaeology G06 LT, 31-34 Gordon Sq, London WC1H 0PY, UK
About the event
Join us for LCANE's Spring Seminar Series highlighting new research. This week's speaker is Dr Frank Simons, Research Fellow in Near & Middle East Studies, Trinity College Dublin
Abstract: The ritual and incantation series Šurpu ‘Burning’ is one of the most important sources for understanding religious and magical practice in the ancient Near East. The purpose of the ritual was to rid a sufferer of a divine curse inflicted due to personal misconduct. The text of the series is composed chiefly of the incantations recited during the ceremony. These are supplemented by brief ritual instructions as well as a ritual tablet which details the ceremony in full. The paper will present a comprehensive and radical reconstruction of the entire text, including the reintroduction of an entire Tablet, the absence of which was previously unsuspected, as well as restoring the missing beginning of the ritual.
Online participation should be possible. Please sign up to receive a link via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lcane-seminar-series-new-research-tickets-1980393071989?aff=oddtdtcreator