The Gilgamesh Flood Tablet: An Ancient Text with Striking Resemblance to the Tale of Noah’s Ark

The Gilgamesh flood tablet, also known as the 11th tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, is a fragment of a baked clay tablet that contains cuneiform inscriptions detailing an epic flood that swept through Babylon. This ancient piece of literature is considered one of the oldest in the world.

The tablet was found in Nineveh, an ancient Assyrian city in present-day Iraq, dating back to the seventh century B.C. The Epic of Gilgamesh itself may date back to the third millennium B.C.

The story on the tablet closely resembles the biblical tale of Noah’s ark from the Book of Genesis. It describes how the gods sent a flood to destroy Earth, but one god, Ea, warned Utu-napishtim to build a boat to save himself, his family, and various animals. Mirroring the biblical account, Utu-napishtim released birds to check for dry land.

Discovered in the late 1800s, the tablet was decoded by researcher George Smith, who declared himself the first person in over two thousand years to read it. The tablet’s story predates the biblical account, suggesting that the Epic of Gilgamesh may have been the source of the Noah’s ark story.

Overall, the Gilgamesh flood tablet provides valuable insights into the ancient world and the similarities shared among different cultures and their mythologies.