Wilfred G. Lambert
Wilfred George Lambert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 26 February 1926 Chudleigh Road,Erdington,Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Died | 9 November 2011(aged 85) |
| Nationality | British |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | King Edward's School, Birmingham Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Assyriology |
| Institutions | Westminster School University of Toronto Johns Hopkins University Birmingham University École pratique des hautes études British Museum |
| Doctoral students | Irving Finkel |
Wilfred George LambertFBA(26 February 1926 – 9 November 2011) was a historian andarchaeologist,a specialist inAssyriologyandNear Eastern Archaeology.
Early life[edit]
Lambert was born inBirmingham,and, having won a scholarship, he was educated atKing Edward's School,Birmingham. He obtained two degrees, inClassicsandOriental Languages,atChrist's College,University of Cambridge.[1]
Academic career[edit]
Lambert taught and researched at theUniversity of Birminghamfor thirty years, during which period he made weekly trips to work on decipheringcuneiformtabletsin theBritish Museum.After retirement, he worked with the Museum on their Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals Project, dealing with the inscriptions on the seals.[2]In January 2010, Professor Lambert andIrving Finkelidentified pieces from a cuneiform tablet that was inscribed with the same text as theCyrus Cylinder.[3]
Lambert was an external consultant for theChicago Assyrian Dictionary.[4][5]His work, 'Introduction: the transmission of the literary and scholarly texts', inCuneiform Texts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art II: Literary and scholastic texts of the first millennium BC,was used as background material for TheHigher Education Academy's project,Knowledge and Power in the Neo-Assyrian Empire.[6]He was also noted for his new discoveries in relation to theGilgameshtext.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Lambert was aChristadelphian,and aconscientious objector.From 1944, he worked in ahorticultural nurserynorth of Birmingham in lieu ofmilitary serviceand supervisedItalianprisoners of warin their work.[8]Later, in his spare time, he was editor of one of his church's quarterly magazines.[9]Lambert was a lifelong vegetarian.[1]
Appointments and memberships[edit]
- 1959–64: Associate Professor and Chair of Oriental Seminary,Johns Hopkins University
- 1970–93: Professor of Assyriology,University of Birmingham.
- 1984: President of theSociety for Old Testament Study.
Lambert was elected aFellow of the British Academyin 1971. He was also a presenting member of theRencontre Assyriologique Internationale(International Congress of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology).
Bibliography[edit]
This is a partial bibliography:
Books[edit]
- Morals in ancient MesopotamiaJaarbericht 15. Ex Oriente Lux. (1957–58) pp184–196.
- Babylonian Wisdom Literature1960. (221.849.2 L222)
- A new Babylonian Theogony and HesiodW. G. Lambert and Peter Walcot (1931–2009). Kadmos 4 (1965) pp64–72.
- Ancient Near Eastern seals in Birmingham Collections(1966)
- Atra-Hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Floodby W. G. Lambert, A. R. Millard, and Miguel Civil. (Oxford 1969).
- Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum(Jan. 1992)
- Art of the Eastern Worldby Geza Fehérvári, W. G. Lambert, Ralph H. Pinder-Wilson, and Marian Wenzel (1996)
- The Qualifications of Babylonian DivinersW.G. Lambert inFestschrift für Rykle Borger(1998).
- Cuneiform Texts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Volume II: Literary and Scholastic Texts of the First Millennium BCedited by Ira Spar and W. G. Lambert. (2005)
- Babylonian Oracle QuestionsEisenbrauns, 2007 (ISBN9781575061368)
- Babylonian Creation MythsEisenbrauns, 2013
In honour of[edit]
- Wisdom, Gods and literature: studies in Assyriology in honour of W.G. LambertBy Wilfred G. Lambert, A. R. George, Irving L. Finkel 2002 462pp
Conference papers[edit]
- Babylonian Siege Equipment.52eRencontre Assyriologique Internationale.Krieg und Frieden im Alten Vorderasien, Münster, 17–21 July 2006[10]
Book reviews[edit]
- Review of Erica ReinerAstral Magic in BabyloniainThe Journal of the American Oriental Society1999
- Review of Charles PenglaseGreek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod.1997 inThe Journal of the American Oriental Society
References[edit]
- ^ab"Obituaries – Professor Wilfred Lambert".The Telegraph.10 January 2012.Retrieved8 July2012.
- ^British Museum Research Projects
- ^British Museum
- ^"Chicago Assyrian Dictionary 2002–2003 report pdf"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 6 September 2008.Retrieved12 November2008.
- ^"Chicago Assyrian Dictionary 2001–2002 Annual Report".Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2008.Retrieved12 November2008.
- ^"The Higher Education Academy: Knowledge and Power – Bibliography".Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2008.Retrieved12 November2008.
- ^What's new in the Gilgamesh Epic? SOAS pdf
- ^"Birmingham Post obituary".Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2012.Retrieved4 December2011.
- ^Newspaper press directoryVolume 120 Ernest Benn Limited – 1971 Endeavour Magazine. l0p quarterly, 50p pa Established 1961... Editor: Wilfred Lambert. "
- ^(International Congress of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology) Munster 2006
External links[edit]
- Entry for Wilfred Lambert, British Academy
- 'Birmingham-born historian and archaeologist Wilfred Lambert diesArchived10 February 2012 at theWayback Machine',Birmingham Post(01/12/11)
- 1926 births
- 2011 deaths
- Academics of the University of Birmingham
- Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
- Assyriologists
- British conscientious objectors
- Christadelphians
- English Assyriologists
- English Christians
- Fellows of the British Academy
- Johns Hopkins University faculty
- Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study