Noah's Ark and an ancient tablet
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| English: An account of barley rations issued monthly to adults (30 or 40 pints) and children (20 pints) written in Cuneiform on clay tablet, written in year 4 of King Urukagina (circa 2350 BCE). From Ngirsu, Iraq. British Museum, London. BM 102081 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Archaeologists say writings on an ancient tablet confirm there was a global flood and an ark that carried animals.
A recently deciphered 4,000-year-old clay tablet, discovered in modern-day Iraq -- which is ancient Mesopotamia -- reveals striking similarities to the biblical account of Noah. The tablet describes a massive flood that destroys the earth and instructions that animals should be loaded onto the craft "two by two."
The tablet differs from scripture in its description of the ark. It tells of a giant round vessel, two-thirds the size of a soccer field. In the book of Genesis, God commands Noah to build a longer vessel, providing specific dimensions that are not round.
Experts say other ancient civilizations adapted versions of Noah's story to their own cultures.
The tablet is on display at the British Museum in London, and engineers hope to build the vessel following the ancient instructions.
