The British Museum yesterday put the recently deciphered clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia - now Iraq - on display.
It's claimed to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever.
What it contains are specifications for the legendary Ark which was said to have saved two of each animal - and a handful of humans - from a catastrophic flood.
But some of the details are different to the generally known version.
It describes a circular vessel known as a coracle, not the rectangular vessel of modern mythology.
"It was really a heart-stopping moment - the discovery that the boat was to be a round boat," the tablet's discoverer, Irving Finkel said. "That was a real surprise."
Ah, but that was not the ONLY surprise.
The tablet records a Mesopotamian god's instructions for building a giant vessel - two-thirds the size of a soccer field in area - made of rope, reinforced with wooden ribs and coated in bitumen.
Etched in the clay is one of the story's key elements: It describes how the animals must enter "two by two".
Wait, a Mesopotamian god? But doesn't that mean....
This is not the first time the ancient story of the ark has been found outside of the bible. But it is the earliest.
The flood story recurs in later Mesopotamian writings including the "Epic of Gilgamesh."
Finkel says the discovery may cause dissent among believers in the biblical story. When 19th-century British Museum scholars first learned from cuneiform tablets that the Babylonians had a flood myth, they were disturbed by its similarities to the story of Noah.
"Already in 1872 people were writing about it in a worried way - What does it mean that Holy Writ appears on this piece of Weetabix?" he joked to Fox News, referring to a cereal similar in shape to the tablet.
"I'm sure the story of the flood and a boat to rescue life is a Babylonian invention," he said.
Of course it does not come as a surprise to most Atheists that the stories of the Bible, and Christianity itself, are made up of fables and traditions from a wide variety of previous mythologies and religions. However it is always important to point out that the arguments used by Creationists to attack the teaching of Evolution and science in the public school classroom are based on myths that predate the "history" and the God on which their religion is based.
Ultimately science will provide the answers, just like it provided an answer to the mystery of Noah's Ark.
Whoa...if that goofus down south ever gets funding for his Ark Museum, he'd better redraw the plans.
ReplyDeleteOh come on...that wouldn't be biblical.
Delete"Of course it does not come as a surprise to most Atheists that the stories of the Bible, and Christianity itself, are made up of fables and traditions from a wide variety of previous mythologies and religions."
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It doesn't come as a surprise to the millions of believers, including Christians, who are intelligent, well-read, well-educated, and who do not confuse of worship one English translation of a heterogeneous collection of writings from long ago.
The same people who seemingly understand that the story of the Good Samaritan is a parable, not a news item, can't grasp that many of the tales in the bible are parables and instead shoehorn them into being a science textbook.
I read the Epic of Gilgamesh in a junior high Catholic school (have long-since lapsed away). Anyone whose faith depends on closing their eyes and mind and refusing to use the brains that they presumably believe God gave them has a weak faith indeed.
I don't know why they would be surprised. The Old Testament is generally considered to have been written while the Hebrews were in captivity in Babylon. Looks like plagiarism isn't against the 10 commandments ;-D
ReplyDeleteWell, obviously Satan planted that tablet to try and trick us...or some other explanation to make the religious folk sigh and happily go back to believin'.
ReplyDeleteSo, if this account is from ancient Iraq, does it mean that ancient civilization has to be disparaged because it believed these stories? If an atheist's point of view is that all stories about God and the great flood and stories are all mythical, so be it. But, thousands upon thousands of people in those days believed these "myths". Yet, these same people brought about change, were exceptionally gifted and intelligent, were able to draw minerals out of the ground and create metals, build Kingdoms, irrigation systems, plant and grow and were great hunters.
ReplyDeleteAll of us come from the loins of these guys, whether from Mesopotamia, the horn of Africa, of Hebrews or from the far East or Europe. If it was important for these ancients to keep a record of things, and if it was important that they seek god, it proves one thing, that it's in man's heart to seek something beyond himself or this temporal life. If seeking to find a spiritual path was so essential for them then, why is it so hard to accept that we today, have these same yearnings.
What it proves is that people naturally look for patterns and explanations and they do so out of feelings of curiosity, helplessness, and fear.
DeleteBut, no matter what the ancient Greeks believed, no matter how smart and talented they were, the sun is not actually pulled across the sky by a god and his horses.
I think the issue is when these personal beliefs are used to justify manipulative actions on others on the basis of greed, power, control, and destruction.
DeleteI was born and raised a Southern Baptist so I remember always fearing these cartoon-like images in my head -- trying to figure out what it was I needed to do to never, ever meet evil people or go to evil places. Once I learned that I had more options and could control myself and my thoughts, I was able to relax and be more open to meeting new people, taking on new challenges and going to new and exciting places.
Fear removed = think and enjoy
For every Christian who feels challenged by this, there will be 20 who feel confirmed, who see it as proof the flood actually happened and that those survivors who descended to become the folk who made this tablet just corrupted the story a bit. This is how it will play out among the majority of serious Christians.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you for sharing this discovery!
ReplyDeleteWhenever a discovery like this is made, It makes me wonder why so many atrocities and wars have been caused by religions, when they seem to share so many similar stories, myths, parables, fables and prayers?
ReplyDeleteI have a fundamentalist christian arm of the family, and they even go on to argue their translation of the Bible (Same book) is THE STANDARD and all others are wrong. Seriously? How many versions of the Bible are there (at least 50) and theirs is the only right one?
I don't see why this is such a surprise. Tribes of people naturally settled near water, and running water is fresh and stays clean since it is constantly washing any human wastes out to sea. Whenever there's a river, there will be floods. I expect any early tribe will have a flood saga.
ReplyDeleteIvyfree
Believers don't want to get confused with facts. The handful of Christians I've shared this link with don't really want to know what's true...they just want to be happy believing what they believe.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Christian, etc., but to have another society reflect the same story provides external evidence of the alleged occurrence.
ReplyDeleteAt the time of Noah, there were no Jews or Christians; Noah was not a Jew, and Abraham was not born for nearly 400 years (by Jewish reckoning). All that is known is that Noah was a monotheist, and nearly every culture worldwide has a shockingly similar flood story.
You don't have the truth, so dial the smug down a few thousand notches. Skimming a few articles doesn't put you in an exhalted judgement role, , Mr. Blogspot.com
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