A talent that I'm sure Janet appreciates.
Posted on 01/30/2005 2:51:03 PM PST by blam
Gilgamesh Tomb Believed Found
Posted 01-25-2005 10:02:40 (GMT 1-25-2005
(BBC) -- 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 - including, where the Euphrates once flowed, 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 department of Historical Monuments in Munich, told the BBC World Service's Science in Action programme.
Magnetic
In the book - actually a set of inscribed clay tablets - Gilgamesh was described as having been buried under the Euphrates, 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.
He said the amazing discovery of the ancient city under the Iraqi desert had been made possible by modern technology.
"By differences in magnetisation in the soil, you can look into the ground," Mr Fassbinder added.
"The difference between mudbricks 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.
"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.
"[It was] like Venice in the desert."
Nah---he's not an archealogist---he's the Nazi equivalent of the CIA.
Uruk, according to the Gilgamesh Epic, was approached by boat. The people dug all these canals/irrigation ditches and then went around by boat. The "city" was the cultivated area in those times.
When the river was high, water could be captured in the ditches and used to irrigate.
They still have these irrigation ditches all over the place in Iraq, and we have lost soldiers who drove into these canals and drowned.
Fishermen along the rivers live in houses made of woven reeds--giant baskets. These are right next to the water and probably are replaced frequently. I saw a picture of one of these houses in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Mesopotamian Noah, Unapishtim, was warned by a god named Ea/Enki who whispered to the walls of his house that a flood was coming. It was a reed house, the epic specifies. The houses are still the same thousands of years later.
Technically, the walls told Unapishtim the flood was coming. My students always think this is crazy until I explain that the god Ea/Enki has divided loyalties.
He isn't supposed to tell man about the flood because that would be disloyal to the gods, but he wants to warn man.
He defends his breach of confidence to the other gods by "explaining" that he only told the walls, not Unapishtim.
Clearly, he is being disingenuous. Ea/Enki was the god of waters and was known for his slyness. Water is sly and two-faced in Mesopotamia--just like Ea/Enki. Water gives you life and also takes it.
When people ask Unapishtim (Mesopotamian Noah) why he is building a boat, he tells them (on the advice of Ea) to say that Enlil is mad at him so he has to move to the sea, but "on you he will rain down an abundant harvest of bran and wheat."
Ea is very two-faced, and this pun illustrates his dual nature. Bran and wheat can also mean rain down misfortune and sorrow in their language.
Ea is like those later Greek oracles who always speak the truth, but people don't understand.
At the end of the story, the other gods turn against Enlil who convinced them to send the flood. He isn't allowed to eat the food sacrificed because he brought the flood.
The gods are not all-knowing. They are shocked by the flood and hide behind their walls in heaven "like dogs."
No offense taken. I was just saying that this archeological site has been discovered for a while. I don't know too much about it or about the reputation of the scholars studying it.
It was called.............. the Hai Way.
I find the Sumerian mythology interesting because of the influence that it had on the religions we are familiar with. The Hebrews were influenced by these myths during their Babylonian captivity. The concept of a Lord of Light and a Lord of Darkness influenced the Jewish concepts of God and the devil. The further evolution of these ideas is seen in Mithraic and Persian beliefs which had a influence on Christianity. The area described in this post also influenced concepts of the Garden of Eden with it's elaborate gardens. While Gilgamesh's only relation to the bible may be the flood stories the whole area gives birth to so many figures found in the bible. If anybody is interested in astrology there is a interesting connection between the epics of Gilgamesh and the signs of the Zodiac, if you give any credence to Robert Graves. This was a very nice post, I like the archaeological and historical ones.
bump
Gilgamesh tries to be a savior to his people. He tries to bring them a flower that will give a man eternal life--as a human being. A snake steals the flower, eats it, and immediately sheds his skin.
I think this idea of being a savior who brings eternal life very much foreshadows what is in the Bible.
Gilgamesh does act as a kind of savior because he built a wall that protected his city and people. The narrator says the wall still stands. It's mostly gone now, I suppose.
Way to rain on my parade!
I have the book too. There's also a very good one hour documentary about this subject that includes Ryan & Pittman. There is also another documentary featuring the underwater explorer Ballard as he looks for underwater housing structures, it's not as good as the one I mentioned above.
" am a little skeptical because people didn't have writing in 5600 BC and I have read that oral tradition doesn't really last thousands of years. I read one time that oral tradition lasts 500 years."
I still use the terms "Not worth his salt" and "When in Rome, do as the Romans". The word 'salary' come from the period when salt was used a payment for labor.
I've read where some speculate that the god enki was in fact the comet Encke.
Now, after the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam was mad at the Marsh Arabs and drained their swamp. When the draining was complete, it revealed an impact crater dated to 2200-2300BC and coincides with a worldwide tree-ring incident. Below is an article covering this discovery.
Disaster That Stuck The Ancients
"Today's crater lies on what would have been shallow sea 4,000 years ago, and any impact would have caused devastating fires and flooding."
"The catastrophic effect of these could explain the mystery of why so many early cultures went into sudden decline around 2300 BC."
See my post #90.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Thanks for the story, now I don't have to take your course.
A talent that I'm sure Janet appreciates.
No, I don't remember this being posted before. But, when someone provided a link to the older article/thread, there I was blabbing away on it.LOL. I blamed it on old age.
I don't know why this was re-published, maybe it wasn't a BBC re-issue but the AINA just getting around to publishing it.
Oh, right! What a give away!
ROFL! That's happened to me a few times, too. . . :-)
Anyway, I was pretty interested in that find when I first read of it. I hope that once the situation in Iraq stabilizes there will be more news from that dig.
bttt
Sir Laurence has some interesting claims. However, one cannot and should not take him seriously until he at least tries to provide some supporting evidence or source documentation.
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