Cuneiform tablet relating part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Neo-Assyrian, 7th century BC. Artist: Unknown

---

Cuneiform tablet relating part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Neo-Assyrian, 7th century BC. A tablet from the library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (reigned 669-631 BC) who amassed a collection of thousands of cuneiform tablets in his palace at Nineveh, northern Iraq. The Epic of Gilgamesh records the adventures of Gilgamesh, a legendary ruler of Uruk, and his search for immortality. This, the eleventh tablet of the epic, describes Gilgamesh's meeting with Utnapishtim who, like Noah in the Old Testament, built a boat to survive a great flood, which killed the rest of mankind. From the British Museum.

---

Size: 3254px × 3236px
Location:
Photo credit: © Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 7th, ann, artefact, artifact, arts, ashurbanipal, assyria, assyrian, bc, century, color, colour, country, cuneiform, epic, flood, gilgamesh, iraq, iraqi, legend, legendary, literature, location, mythology, neo-assyrian, object, pictures, ronan, story, tablet, text, unknown, writing