The ancient city of Mari is one of our best resources for understanding ancient Mesopotamia, and food historian Max Miller has highlighted it. What better way to get to know a place, than through the food.
A litte note about Mari….
Outstanding archaeological and philological discoveries have been made at Mari, one of the most prolific sites in this field of research. They shed a powerful light on the conditions of urbanisation in Syria and the nature of the contact between the worlds of Sumeria-Akkadia (in Mesopotamia) and Syria (more inland to the west).
The site’s unique location and the conditions in which its remains have been conserved have made it a field school where French students and researchers are able to work with their counterparts in Syria and from Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, among other counties. Directed by André Parrot, Jean-Claude Margueron and Pascal Butterlin, the excavations continued until 2010.
Further Reading on Ancient Mesopotamia
Mari Specific
From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters
Beer
In the Land of Ninkasi: A History of Beer in Ancient Mesopotamia
Food
The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia
Daily Life
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East