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A 3000-year-old map and the hunt for Noah’s Ark: Decoding ancient mysteries
In addition to being the oldest map in the world, this humble artifact—known as the Imago Mundi—may also indicate the location of Noah's Ark, which has never been found.
The place is the Assyrian equivalent of "Ararat," which is the Hebrew name for the mountain where Noah crashed the biblical ship built for the same reason. Photo Credit: NoahsArkScans.com
A 3000-year-old clay tablet with wedge-shaped markings engraved on it has been discovered in the vaults of the British Museum. It tells a tale that combines biblical fiction with ancient Babylonian mythology. In addition to being the oldest map in the world, this humble artifact—known as the Imago Mundi—may also indicate the location of Noah’s Ark, which has never been found.
From Myth to Map
In 1882, the Babylonian Map of the World, also known as the Imago Mundi, was discovered in the ancient Iraqi city of Sippar. Its mysterious sculptures, which included symbols of mountains, rivers, and ancient script, baffled researchers for decades.
However, a startling new dimension to its meaning has been uncovered by recent research: Urartu, a place connected to the Great Flood narrative, is mentioned in its inscriptions.
The ancient kingdom of Urartu in present-day Turkey is said to be equivalent to Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is said to have rested following the deluge in biblical mythology.
This isn’t only a biblical story, either; according to Babylonian legend, a man and his family and animals survived a supernatural flood on a huge ship.
“Parsiktu”—The Ark, by Any Other Name
Almost like a handbook, the back of the Imago Mundi has comprehensive travel advice. One must walk through “seven leagues” in order to find anything that is “thick as a parsiktu-vessel,” the book claims. The word “parsiktu” is crucial, according to Dr. Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum. It’s a little-known term, but in other contexts it refers to the type of boat made to endure the Great Flood.
“The fact that you have this obscure term—parsiktu—used in both contexts is remarkable,” Finkel explained. “It shows that both the Babylonian and biblical flood stories, while separated by time and culture, describe strikingly similar events.”
Babylon’s Flood Survivor: Utnapishtim
Before Noah, there was Utnapishtim. According to the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim was chosen by the god Ea to survive a catastrophic flood. He built an ark, filled it with animals, and saved his family from annihilation.
“It’s not just a myth for the Babylonians,” Finkel remarked. “They believed you could physically visit these places and find evidence—just as the Bible suggests the ark is on Ararat.”
Mount Ararat: A Place of Controversy
Mount Ararat remains the subject of controversy. While some academics contend that the so-called “ark formation” is a naturally occurring rock formation, others think it contains the remains of the biblical ark. In 2023, archaeologists from Istanbul Technical University reported discovering artefacts and evidence of sea elements during their excavations, which could indicate that humans lived at the location between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago.
But not everybody is convinced. Geologist and young-Earth creationist Dr. Andrew Snelling has argued that Mount Ararat’s geology demonstrates that it didn’t exist at the time of the purported flood. “The mountain, as we see it today, formed well after any such event,” Snelling claimed.
More Than a Story—A Shared Legacy
Humanity’s eternal preoccupation with survival and rebirth is demonstrated by the Imago Mundi map, which is more than just a historical curiosity. The features of biblical and Babylonian flood stories—such as Noah’s boat or Utnapishtim’s ark—reflect recurring themes: hope, destruction, and the promise of a fresh start.
“This tablet is a rare window into a time when myths, maps, and history converged,” said Finkel. “It reminds us that the ancient world sought meaning in the same way we do today—by telling stories and charting the unknown.”
Think beyond the Sunday school story the next time you hear about Noah’s Ark. Envision the ancient hands who carved these tales into clay, thinking that their survival and journey were recorded not just in scripture but also in the actual terrain. The Imago Mundi is a voyage through humanity’s deepest fears and hopes, carved into stone and just waiting to be discovered. It is more than just a map of ancient rivers and mountains.
