First cities and first writing: Mesopotamia

Diana O'Carroll

Tom Birch

How is it that the first farms, cities and writing all originated in Mesopotamia, now Iraq? We explore the so-called 'fertile crescent' and fanatical record-keeping in the ancient Near East. We find out how DNA from the body of Tutankhamun hints at his numerous illnesses and we also look at who paddled across the Mediterranean first. Plus, in Backyard Archaeology Tom Birch smelts his own iron!