Klaus Wagensonner

Klaus Wagensonner is a Lecturer and Associate Research Scholar at Yale University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He specializes in Sumerian literature, Mesopotamian lexicography, and Old Babylonian epistolography, with a focus on knowledge organization in cuneiform texts. His research integrates philological analysis with digital humanities, particularly through digitization projects of cuneiform artifacts.

Educated at the University of Vienna (Mag. Phil. 2006, Dr. Phil. 2016), his work includes monographs on lexical texts and collaborative publications on Old Babylonian letters from Kish. He co-edited volumes such as Women at the Dawn of History (2020) and Ancient Mesopotamia Speaks (2019), which highlight artifacts from Yale’s Babylonian Collection. His NEH-funded project digitized the Yale Babylonian Collection’s 35,000 cuneiform artifacts, making them accessible via the Peabody Museum portal.

Wagensonner’s research interests span ancient Mesopotamian rituals, scribal education, and the transmission of knowledge. Recent articles explore amulets, divine journeys, and legal case adaptation into scribal lore. His work bridges textual analysis, archaeological evidence, and digital preservation techniques to advance understanding of ancient Mesopotamian culture.