How does ancient Assyrian language sound?

Read more about the Assyrians at: http://www.assyriatimes.com

Have you ever wondered how does the ancient Assyrian language sound? In this video you would hear two scripts read by Dr. Irving Finkel. Dr. Finkel is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection- some 130,000 pieces -- of any modern museum. This work involves reading and translating all sorts of inscriptions, sometimes working on ancient archives to identify manuscripts that belong together, or even join to one another.

The first script is the words of Cyrus the Great (سخنان کوروش کبیر), the Persian King and the King of Babylon. The second script is a piece of poetry about the Story of the Flood.