Scientists Pinpoint ‘Noah’s Ark’ Location on Ancient Babylonian Tablet

Scientists have deciphered what is believed to be the oldest world map, drawn nearly 3,000 years ago on a clay tablet, potentially indicating the location of “Noah’s Ark.”

The Babylonian artifact, known as the *Imago Mundi,* is inscribed with a circular map and wedge-shaped symbols describing the creation of the early world. Researchers from the British Museum recently analyzed the tablet and found references that could relate to Biblical stories.

The back of the tablet details what a traveler might encounter on a journey. It instructs travelers to go “seven leagues… [to] see something thick as a parsiktu-vessel.” The term “parsiktu” has appeared on other ancient Babylonian texts, typically describing a large boat, perhaps one built to survive a Great Flood.

Following the tablet’s directions, researchers traced a path to “Urartu,” a region identified in ancient Mesopotamian poetry as the place where a man and his family allegedly landed an ark to save life from a great flood.

The map itself places Mesopotamia at its center, encircled by what is described as a “bitter river,” symbolizing the ocean surrounding the known world. Though the tablet is partially damaged, it once depicted eight triangles, thought to represent mountains, matching descriptions found on the back.

Dr. Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, explained that the map suggests an established journey to see this historic boat’s remnants. The term “parsiktu” caught the interest of Assyriologists, as it only appears on rare cuneiform tablets, including one describing an ark said to be built by a Babylonian version of Noah.

In a video, Dr. Finkel noted, “This tablet offers a remarkable parallel to the flood story, indicating that Babylonians saw this journey as a fact, where one could witness remnants of the ark.”