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Archaeologists in Iraq believe they may have found the lost tomb of King Gilgamesh -- the subject of the oldest "book" in history.  |
The Epic Of Gilgamesh -- written by a Middle Eastern scholar 2,500 years before the birth of Christ -- commemorated the life of the ruler of the city of Uruk, from which "Iraq" gets its name.
Now, a German-led expedition has discovered what is thought to be the entire city of Uruk -- where the Euphrates river once flowed, including the last resting place of its famous king.
"I don't want to say definitely it was the grave of King Gilgamesh, but it looks very similar to that described in the epic," Jorg Fassbinder, of the Bavarian Dept. of Historical Monuments in Munich, told BBC World Service's Science in Action program.
Magnetic
In the book -- actually a set of inscribed clay tablets -- Gilgamesh was described as having been buried under the Euphrates river, in a tomb apparently constructed when the waters of the ancient river parted following his death.
"We found just outside the city an area in the middle of the former Euphrates river¿ the remains of such a building which could be interpreted as a burial," Mr. Fassbinder said.
Who can say, like Gilgamesh, I am king?
- Epic of Gilgamesh
He said the amazing discovery of the ancient city under the Iraqi desert had been made possible by modern technology.
"By differences in magnetization in the soil, you can look into the ground," Mr. Fassbinder added.
"The difference between mud bricks and sediments in the Euphrates river gives a very detailed structure."
This creates a magnetogram, which is then digitally mapped, effectively giving a town plan of Uruk.
"Venice in the desert"
"The most surprising thing was that we found structures already described by Gilgamesh," Mr. Fassbinder stated.
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"We covered more than 100 hectares. We have found garden structures and field structures as described in the epic, and we found Babylonian houses."
But he said the most astonishing find was an incredibly sophisticated system of canals.
"Very clearly, we can see in the canals some structures showing that flooding destroyed some houses, which means it was a highly developed system.
- Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds [deva], one-third human. That is to say partly divine, the result of hybridization with humanoid creatures from space. Iraq has long been a rich source of archeological findings.
- Read the Epic of Gilgamesh
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