Ancient Babylonian Map Points to Spot of Noah’s Ark
Scientists have finally deciphered an ancient Babylonian artifact and say its inscription points to the location of Noah’s Ark.
It has taken years to uncover the meaning of a 3,000-year-old clay tablet known as the Imago Mundi.
“This is the oldest map of the world, in the world,” said Dr. Irving Finkel, a British Museum curator and cuneiform expert.
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The artifact has a script with wedge-shaped symbols called cuneiform and archeologists have been stumped for years as to its meaning.
But after months of intensive study, scientists now believe the carvings make clear references to the Bible.
“It has two sides, this is the front or ‘obverse’ and this is the back or the ‘reverse’ and the reverse consists of lots of lines of cuneiform in different ruled sections,” explained Finkel. “So it’s full of information, even though it’s a bit damaged.”
Finkel notes that the map shows ancient Mesopotamia, which is modern-day Iraq, surrounded by the “Bitter River.” The river represented by a double ring indicates the border of the Babylonians’ known world.
“This is a very important ring of water because it meant for the Babylonians, they had a sort of idea of the limits of their world where they lived in about the 6th century BC,” he said.
The map also contained a secret key to show travelers the route on the water they should take and what to look out for while on the way.
Finkel shares that one of the passages instructs travelers to go through “seven leagues to see something that is thick as a parsiktu-vessel.”
The term “parsiktu” is used to reference the size of a vessel needed to survive a great flood.
Then, Finkel notes, the artifact refers to “Urartu” and specific instructions on how to get there.
“To the fourth, to which you must travel seven leagues,” it reads.
Researchers believe that “Urartu”, which is also known as Ararat, is linked to an ancient Mesopotamian poem about a man and his family who landed an ark following a 150-day flood.
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Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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