Location of 'Noah's Ark' is revealed as scientists decipher world's oldest map on 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet
- READ MORE: Archaeologists unlock secrets of 4,000-year-old tablet
Published: 14:46 EDT, 28 October 2024 | Updated: 14:52 EDT, 28 October 2024
Scientists have deciphered the world's oldest map etched in a clay tablet about 3,000 years ago, finding it features the location of 'Noah's Ark' among the drawings.
The Babylonian artifact, known as the Imago Mundi, shows a circular diagram with a writing system that used wedge-shaped symbols to describe the early creation of the world.
Researchers at the British Museum, where the tablet is housed, revealed what they had deciphered last month, but a deeper analysis of their work uncovered the Biblical reference within the ancient language.
The back of the tablet acts like a key, describing what a traveler will see on their journey, with one portion says that they must pass through 'seven leagues... [to] see something that is thick as a parsiktu-vessel.'
The word 'parsiktu' has been found on other ancient Babylonian tablets, specifically to explain the size of a boat needed to survive the Great Flood.
Researchers followed the instructions, finding a path to 'Urartu' where an ancient Mesopotamian poem claims a man and his family landed an ark to preserve life.
The location is the Assyrian equivalent to 'Ararat,' the Hebrew word for the mountain Noah crashed the Biblical vessel that was constructed for the same purpose.
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World's oldest map etched on tablet shows location of 'Noah's Ark'
The world's oldest map guides travelers to 'Noah's Ark' that is believed to be on a mountain in Turkey. The 3,000-year-old clay tablet was etched with a writing system that used wedge-shaped symbols.