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dc.contributor.advisorLudlow, Francis
dc.contributor.authorMcGovern, Rhonda
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-22T10:16:17Z
dc.date.available2024-07-22T10:16:17Z
dc.date.issued2024en
dc.date.submitted2024
dc.identifier.citationMcGovern, Rhonda, Cuneiform to Computer: Meteorological Data from Ancient Babylon., Trinity College Dublin, School of Histories & Humanities, History, 2024en
dc.identifier.otherYen
dc.descriptionAPPROVEDen
dc.description.abstractThe Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia is a seven-volume published transliteration and translation of collected cuneiform clay tablets originating in Babylon from 652-61 BCE and written in Akkadian cuneiform script. Scribes who were employed to take their position on the temple of Bēl in Babylon; from where they watched the skies and recorded their observations; spent much of their lives training for the role. This is evident in the precise vernacular utilised in the Diaries to record very specific phenomena. This series represents one the oldest and longest continuous records of meteorological observations in the world, unprecedented in the context of the ancient world and rarely paralleled in any pre-instrumental records. A content analysis is undertaken extracting all individual units of data from the published texts which are manually entered into Excel, as a newly generated, easily analysable tabular dataset. The texts are read closely twice, in the first instance to extract, categorise and catalogue data into the new dataset, and in the second, as a method of quality control to minimise the risk of omissions or errors, with each step in the quality control process adding more precision to the dataset. Accompanying terminology are examined, and the specific set of adjectival qualifiers (and related information) associated with each phenomenon are utilised in constructing an intensity metric for meteorological variables, where possible. Initial analysis is undertaken on all variables to characterise the frequency, intensity, seasonality and interrelationship of the variables within the series. This also serves as an interrogation of reliability of the data, evident in the alignment of all meteorological variables with their expected seasonality. Independent sources are consulted, where possible and appropriate, to further investigate reliability. A weighting is provided to penalise data rich periods relative to data poor periods as a mechanism to standardise data and control for the varying quantity of days with data available, allowing a closer examination of trends and seasonality, revealing `hidden' peaks within the data. Data is further examined with the employment of a chi-square test of independence. The final examination of this dataset is produced in the form of a `proof of concept' case study whereby particular variables are selected for analysis utilising an independent and established scientific dataset already employed by many researchers in diverse fields such as volcanology, atmospheric physics, historical climatology, environmental history, among many more. This dataset is paleoclimatic bi-polar ice core sulphate deposition data for the study period. NASA GISS climate model output for the `volcanic quartet' of four major eruptions between 168 and 158 BCE is also examined. Detailed analysis on raw frequency and intensity data is undertaken for each variable included in the case study. Data availability is accounted for by incorporating threshold limits for days with data available, alongside permutation testing and superposed epoch analysis. The results of which surpass all expectations. The case study provides evidence that this dataset, initiated by our ancestors over 2,000 years ago, is robust, reliable and is very capable of being utilised in climatic investigations and reconstructions.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherTrinity College Dublin. School of Histories & Humanities. Discipline of Historyen
dc.rightsYen
dc.subjectHistorical Climatologyen
dc.subjectAncient Babylonen
dc.subjectContent Analysisen
dc.subjectCuneiform scripten
dc.subjectMeteorological Dataen
dc.subjectWeather recordsen
dc.subjectAstronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babyloniaen
dc.titleCuneiform to Computer: Meteorological Data from Ancient Babylon.en
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.supercollectionthesis_dissertationsen
dc.type.supercollectionrefereed_publicationsen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.identifier.peoplefinderurlhttps://tcdlocalportal.tcd.ie/pls/EnterApex/f?p=800:71:0::::P71_USERNAME:MCGOVERHen
dc.identifier.rssinternalid267693en
dc.rights.ecaccessrightsembargoedAccess
dc.date.ecembargoEndDate2026-07-22
dc.rights.EmbargoedAccessYen
dc.contributor.sponsorIrish Research Council - Laureate Starting Award (Dr. Francis Ludlow)en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2262/108773


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