Noah Kröll

Academic Career

  • 2012 – 2013: bachelor studies in chemestry, Innsbruck University
  • 2013 – 2019: bachelor of arts in Classica et Orientalia, Innsbruck University
  • 2019 – 2021: master of arts in ancient history and ancient near East studies, Innsbruck University. Master thesis: "'Always Keep a Kind Eye on him!' studies on Lexis and Grammar of Sumerian Verbs of Seeing Within the Corpus of the Innsbruck Emesal Dictionary Project" (supervisors: Martin Lang, Sebastian Fink)
  • Since 2021: doctoral studies at the Innsbruck University (fiel of dissertation: ancient near East studies), (supervisors: Martin Lang, Sebastian Fink)

Scientific Cooperations

  • 2014 – 2019: scientific project co-worker, FWF-Projekt Glossary of the Sumerian Emesal Songs and Prayers (P 27224)
  • 16th – 20th July 2018: student member of staff at “The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, 64th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale & 12th Melammu Symposion”, Innsbruck

Teaching Activity

  • Seminar “Introduction into the Research of Cuneiform”

Dissertation Project

Working title: Studies on Sumeric Cult Lyrics and their Sitz im Leben during the Seleucid-Parthian Period

The dissertation project aims to assess the Sumerian cult lyrics by means of lexicography and historiography. This text corpus clearly differs from the rest of the Sumerian literature with respect to content, language and the text pragmatic level and ranges from the ancient Babylonian to the Seleucid-Parthian period. Due to intense editorial effort especially regarding late textual remains which were already published at the end of the 19th century and which have been carried out for the last four decades it has become possible to contextualise the cult lyrics in a new way.

The first part of the dissertation project aims to evaluate the social and economic situation of the so-called lamenting singer (Sumerian gala, akk. kalû) who is related with composing and performing these texts. In this course, all written remains of cult lyrics dating into the Seleucid-Parthian period will be collected and assessed. In addition, sources will be included that shed light on ritual practices and the every-day life of the kalû.

The second part of the dissertation aims to build upon the knowledge regarding the historic situation of the kalû and the ritual framework of his lament and will make use of case studies in order to asses occurrence and use of interjections and words signalling emotions within Sumerian cult lyrics. Analysing these very word groups seems attractive as they are related to actual performance and may help to concretise the procedure and practice of such a lament. In an ideal case the lament becomes visible as a performative act emerging from cult lyrics. By means of a final overview the lament can be connected with the knowledge of its ritual procedure.

Working with the cuneiform tablet marks the core of my scientific interest. These objects bring together material embodiment and written discourse in a unique way. The core of my interest lets me hope to profit from archaeological, historical, and philological expertise that arises from the doctorate college Entangled Antiquities. Further, I hope to contribute to the intensification of these competences by means of concrete scientific efforts. In addition, the actual historic situation of the Seleucid-Parthian lamenter as one of the last exponents of the cuneiform culture which in that time was already dwindling is predestined for spinning on the tension field between localities/ localism (i.e. the Seleucid-Parthian variation of the Mesopotamian lamentation tradition) and global antiquities (i.e. this specific lamentation tradition as part of a written culture which lasted for millennia).

 

 

 

 

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