Archeology news: Researchers amazed by “first image of the Tower of Babel” | Sciences | New

The Tower remains one of the most mysterious stories contained in the Bible. For years, the question of whether or not the Tower was a real physical thing was open to debate. Many thought it was merely symbolic, acting as a message to devoted Bible disciples.

Others claimed it was simply folklore or legend.

The fragile remains of the ancient city of Babylon in present-day Iraq have revealed many secrets; the largest of all the discovery of a vast structure that ancient documents suggest was the Tower of Babel.

These texts, along with others found throughout the Middle East – where Christianity originated – gave researchers an idea of ​​what the building might have looked like.

Yet none gave researchers a clear insight or description tied to solid images.

Things changed in 2017 when academics gained access to a private tablet.

The artifact was explored during the Smithsonian Channel documentary, ‘Secrets: Tower of Babel’.

Here the narrator said: “Inscribed on the tablet is an image that sensationally reveals what exactly the Tower of Babel looked like. “

Dr Andrew George, ancient texts expert at SOAS, University of London, said: “This is very strong proof that the story of the Tower of Babel in the Bible was inspired by this real building.”

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The remarkable tablet, which had never been filmed before, dates to the 6th century BCE and was discovered in Babylon over a century ago.

Yet no one had realized how important it was until Professor George received the slab and continued to decipher the inscriptions.

He explained: “In the upper part there is a relief, representing a stepped tower.

“And here a large figure of a human carrying a staff with a conical hat.

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“Below this relief is the text that has been carved into the monument, and the label is easy to read: it reads:“ The tower of the temple of the city of Babylon ”. “

As the narrator noted: “This tablet provides the very first image of the true Tower of Babel.

“This confirms that the building was a Mesopotamian tiered tower and illustrates the seven levels of the old megastructure.

“Significantly, it also clearly identifies the man behind: Mesopotamia’s most famous reign, King Nebuchadnezzar II.”

While the images are extraordinary, the ancient text on the tablet has also revealed a detailed account of the construction of the tower.

And, more importantly, it tells how Nebuchadnezzar proceeded with its construction.

Professor George translated the text of the documentary and said: “It reads from the high seas, which is the Mediterranean, to the low seas, and this is the Persian Gulf, ‘The distant lands and the teeming inhabitants of dwellings that I mobilized in order to build this building of this ziggurat of Babylon ”.

The ancient account is identical to the biblical story of the construction of the Tower of Babel.

For scholars, the tablet offers further proof that the Tower was not just a work of fiction, but a veritable building from antiquity.