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The Sumerian flood tablet |
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This is perhaps the most famous of all cuneiform tablets. It is the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh epic, the one which describes how the gods sent a flood to destroy the world. Like the later version who was named Noah, Utnapishtim was forewarned so that he could build an ark to house and preserve living things. After the flood he sent out birds to look for dry land.
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Original text copyright © British Museum. Image copyright © P L Kessler and the History Files. An original feature for the History Files. Go back or return home. |