Ancient Babylonian map's secrets revealed by British Museum experts
The secrets held within the Babylonian tablet, considered the world's oldest map, have been deciphered. Dated from 2600 to 2900 years ago, Imago Mundi provides a unique insight into the beliefs and practices of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization.
Archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam discovered the Babylonian tablet in 1882. For over a hundred years, it remained undeciphered. Only through the efforts of researchers from the British Museum was the knowledge inscribed on it unraveled.
The map depicts Mesopotamia at the center, surrounded by two rings symbolizing water. In this "world," the people inhabiting Mesopotamia—what is now Iraq and part of Syria—believed.
Stored in the British Museum, the map indicates Mesopotamia as the "known world" surrounded by the "bitter river," reflecting the Babylonian belief about the center of the world. Besides positioning Mesopotamia, the tablet contains descriptions of mythical creatures and outlines the universe's theories from that time.
Interestingly, the map also includes areas outside the center, such as Assyria, Der, and Urartu, which attests to the Babylonians' extensive geographical knowledge. On its edge, mountains are depicted where, according to the inscription, "the Sun is not seen," possibly implying further unknown territories.
In addition to geographical records, the tablet contains descriptions of mythical creatures such as a winged horse, a sea serpent, and a man-bull. This illustrates the richness of Babylonian mythology. According to experts from the British Museum, the text on the tablet also describes the inhabitants of these distant areas, both divine and human.
Imago Mundi is an ancient map that not only opens the door to understanding Babylonian cosmology and geography but also attests to the intellectual and scientific advancement of that ancient civilization.
- The ancient Babylonian map has given us a tremendous insight into many aspects of Mesopotamian thinking. It's also a triumphant demonstration of what happens when you have a very small, totally uninformative and useless fragment of dead boring writing that no one can understand and you join it onto something in the collection which is much bigger and a whole new adventure begins all over again - remarked Dr. Irving Finkel from the British Museum.
