François Desset
- Archaeologist
- Orientalist
- Lecturer
Hello. My name is François Desset. I'm an archaeologist specializing in the ancient Near East.
My greatest accomplishment?
Having successfully deciphered a script over 4,000 years old that no one has been able to read since its discovery over a century ago.
My journey
A life dedicated to archaeology
1999
France
The discovery
Reading “The Bible as History” by Werner Keller. A revelation! I discover Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria—in a word, the Orient!
2003
Paris, France
A provincial in the capital
I studied archaeology in Paris, specializing in the Middle East. My professor Serge Cleuziou's advice led me to Iran.
2006
Jiroft, Iran
Iran (finally)
A doctoral student in Paris, frustrated by his lack of access to Iran, Jean Perrot arranged for me to come to Jiroft. I fell in love with Iran and met my mentor, Massimo Vidale. The tablets discovered at Jiroft inspired me to resume the study of Iranian scriptures.
2014
Tehran, Iran
The move
After my thesis (2011), I moved to Tehran at the invitation of Hassan Fazeli.
2014-2020: the best years of my life.
2017
Tehran, Iran
The breakthrough
I decipher the names Shilhaha, Eparti II, and Napiresha on the silver vases in the Mahboubian collection.
I don't know it yet, but my life has just changed.
2020
Angers, France
COVID
The pandemic forces me to leave Iran. A painful return to France, I settle in Angers.
I announce the decipherment of Linear Elamite.
2022
Angers, France
Doubts
The war in Ukraine and awareness of global warming are shaking up my worldview. I'm thinking of giving up archaeology to be more useful elsewhere.
2023
Liege, Belgium
Liege
Laurent Colonna d'Istria and the University of Liège have given me a warm welcome.
I regain serenity to complete my work, now with two new areas of focus: the environment and Europe.
Today
to be continued...
My passions and beliefs
What drives me every day
The Orient
Archaeology, ancient and contemporary history, languages, writing systems, religions (...), everything interests me because the Orient represents for me the place of origins, where agriculture, livestock breeding, metallurgy, the first large cities, the first States and the first writing systems, in a word civilization, were invented.
- I was able to decipher the linear Elamite script, and am working on deciphering the Proto-Elamite tablets and on a better understanding of the Elamite language.
- I have been active for many years in the archaeology of southeastern Iran, focusing particularly on the brilliant civilization of Jiroft (see these two contributions).
The climate
I seek to promote a sober lifestyle in order to limit global warming and preserve biodiversity, and this for the maintenance of human civilization as we know it.
- I rely on the work of the Shift Project and the French Economy Transformation Plan (PTEF), and I am a member of the Shifters in Angers.
Europe
As a European, the 2022 invasion of Ukraine was a shock. From being a pacifist, I became much more realistic about current geopolitical realities and adopted the motto "si vis pacem, para bellum" (if you want peace, prepare for war).
- I think that Europeans have an interest in organizing themselves politically as quickly as possible within a single, real federal state, what Victor Hugo called the United States of Europe.