Historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes joins Assyriologist Irving Finkel to discuss the concept of ghosts in the ancient world.

To mark Halloween and the publication of Finkel's latest book, The First Ghosts, they consider what was understood by ghosts, the spirits of the dead, especially in ancient Assyria and its region. They explore how a belief in ghosts emerges as a key feature of humanity from its beginning, evident through the earliest writing and archaeology.

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Image credit:
Clay cuneiform tablet showing prescriptions against demons and sickness, Babylon (Iraq), Late Babylonian. © 2021 The Trustees of the British Museum.