Publisher's Synopsis
A considerable corpus of building rituals has been preserved in the cuneiform tradition of the 1st millennium BC from Nineveh, Assur, Dur Sharrukin, Huzirina, Uruk, Sippar and Babylon. Exorcists, lamentation-singers, singers and diviners performed such rituals. Most of the extant texts stem from the repertoire of the exorcists and lamentation-singers concerning the building of temples, houses and tombs. This book offers a general introduction into building rituals as a source for our knowledge of Mesopotamian religion, and a philological edition (including autographs) of the cuneiform texts.