The Code of Hammurabi has arrived at Grigny’s Grande Borne housing estate

29 October 2017

A life-size replica of the Code of Hammurabi, one of the most ancient compendiums of law, which provides a glimpse of Babylonian society in the eighteenth century bce, has just found its way to the Grande Borne housing estate at Grigny (Essonne).

The Code of Hammurabi, a basalt stele measuring 2.25 metres in height, was discovered in 1901 by the French at Suse, in Iran, where it had been brought as a war trophy by the Elamites in the twelfth century bce. An initial translation was proposed in 1902 by the Dominican friar Vincent Scheil. Written in Akkadian using cuneiform script by command of King Hammurabi of Babylon in around 1750 bce, it is inscribed with more than 3,500 lines of text divided into 23 columns. The text starts out with a prologue that speaks of the power granted to the king under the auspices of the great gods of Babylon, his political works, and the many cities conquered by the sovereign. Following this, 282 laws are listed that address false testimony and corrupt judges, thieves, the working of the land, commerce, family law, assault, artisans, workers and slaves. The items that address physical assault and personal injury put forward the law of retaliation (lex talionis) ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’, which one also finds in the Old Testament. The text concludes with an epilogue that glorifies Hammurabi as a just king and a good shepherd of his people. At the top of the stele, a bas-relief depicts the king standing in prayer as he receives the trappings of Royalty from the god of justice, Shamash (i.e. the Sun god).

It is thanks to the combined efforts of the DECIDER association and of the residents of the Grande Borne that this replica of the Code of Hammurabi has arrived at the estate.[1] The association, which celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, was founded as a dynamic response to a large sum of rent arrears owed by the community’s residents, and therefore an urgent need to avoid losing their housing and also to restore their honour. DECIDER supported this local dynamism by boosting the estate’s residents’ access to cultural resources, and it launched an initiative called ‘Museums on the Move’, initially in partnership with the Louvre, and subsequently with the Musée Guimet, the Institute of the Arab World, and the National Library of France. A group of volunteers received suitable training in order to enable them, in turn, to guide the estate’s residents around the museums of Paris.

A new milestone was reached in 2014 with the notion of bringing museums to the Grande Borne estate; indeed, this is how the ‘Museums on the Move’ operation came into being. The residents of the neighbourhood adopt a theme (this year it was ‘The Birth of Writing’), carry out some research on the subject, invite some specialists in, and set up a small museum in a vacant apartment at the housing estate. Accordingly, one can today visit an exhibition room dedicated to prehistoric times, and another to the birth of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Following this, the exhibitions are set up once again in schools and colleges in the district, with the aim of freeing up space at the housing estate for new shows.

To celebrate the arrival of the Code of Hammurabi at the estate, on 14 October a lively exhibition made it possible for visitors to get an idea of daily life in southern Mesopotamia in the eighteenth century bce In addition to discovering the Code of Hammurabi and its content with the help of Djibril’s presentation, they were invited to visit stands staffed by the estate’s residents. In doing so, they were able to discover the Babylonian’s night sky and the known world as they understood it, and then immerse themselves in Babylonian society with Rosy, Ghislaine, Véronique and Adama, and even to ‘start’ a family and imagine life among its members and their slaves. The visitors were taught about irrigation and agriculture by Maria, about horticulture by Céline, about livestock farming by Dalila, and about hunting and fishing by Ibrim and Lissana. With Saba and Marianne, they were able to learn about dressing and personal adornment, to take care of oneself with Reine, Claude and Angélique, eating with Annie and Mama, trading with Francis and Elise, and even the art of war with Cheick Kalid. They were also able to learn to count in base 60 and draw up a multiplication table in cuneiform in soft clay with Moussa and Stephanie. Finally, with Dominique, conductor of the Massy Opera orchestra, who came to lend support, the visitors discovered the Babylonian lyre. While the parents were busy finding out about Babylonian life four thousand years ago, Anne, Laurence and Olivia received their youngsters at the child care centre and conducted a quiz on the surrounding natural world.

Currently, the DECIDER association and operation ‘Museums on the Move’ benefits from a three-year regional funding package (2016-2018), a number of subsidised job positions, and local government support. It is vital to continue to support these wonderful volunteers so that they will be able to continue working closely with the residents of the Grande Borne estate: even with lots of volunteers, cultural initiatives cannot develop without financial means and support.

[1] The DECIDER association is represented by Rahia Ahamada, Seynabou Diarra, Véronique Emery, Evelyne Ozgur, Djibril Soumaré and Martine Vincent; 9-11 Rue des Enclos, 91350 Grigny. Visiting days/hours for ‘Museums on the Move’: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10h-12h et 14h-16h.