The Archives Royales de Mari: 85 years of research

Abstract

The 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Tell Hariri excavation is an opportunity to trace the history of the discovery and publication of the royal archives of Mari. Most of the tablets were discovered from the 2nd to the 5th campaign, between 1934 and 1937. In the absence of an on- site inventory, the tablets were not shared according to the law of antiquities of the time, but sent to France for study, from where they gradually returned to Syria; in 2005, they had been returned in their entirety, the vast majority being kept in the Der ez-Zor Museum. The steps of restoring the tablets (baking and searching for joins), deciphering and reproducing the tablets (copies, photos) are described. A second part describes the organization of the research, starting with the publication strategy, both of correspondence and administrative documents, which has evolved over time. "Mari's team" has developed many work tools, the most recent of which are computer-based. The third part summarizes the work undertaken, with nearly 10,000 tablets published by about fty people from four generations. A few recent research themes are then summarized, before outlining the future prospects of one of the most important scientific projects in assyriology.