Tomb of Gilgamesh found in Iraq (video)

End Times Productions; Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ancient Mesopotamian terracotta relief (circa 2250-1900 BC) showing Gilgamesh slaying the Bull of Heaven, an episode described in Tablet VI of the Epic of Gilgamesh (wiki).

Artist's impression of palaces, The Monuments of Nineveh (Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1853)

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The Gilgamesh flood story (which came long before the Noah's Ark retelling) is a flood myth in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Many scholars believe that the flood myth was added to Tablet XI in the "standard version" of the Gilgamesh Epic by an editor who used the flood story from the Epic of Atra-Hasis [1].

A short reference to the flood myth is also present in the much older Sumerian Gilgamesh poems, from which the later Babylonian versions drew much of their inspiration and subject matter.

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History

Gilgamesh's supposed historical reign is believed to have been approximately 2,700 BC [2], shortly before the earliest known written stories. The discovery of artifacts associated with Aga and Enmebaragesi of Kish (Sumer), two other kings named in the stories, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh [3].

The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh poems date from as early as the Third dynasty of Ur (2,100–2,000 BC) [4].

One of these poems mentions Gilgamesh’s journey to meet the flood hero, Utnapishtim, as well as a short version of the flood story [5].

The earliest Akkadian versions of the unified epic are dated to circa 2,000–1,500 BC [6]. Due to the fragmentary nature of these Old Babylonian versions, it is unclear whether they included an expanded account of the flood myth.

One fragment definitely includes the story of Gilgamesh's journey to meet Utnapishtim.

Tablet XI

The Gilgamesh flood Tablet XI was discovered in Nineveh [8]. It contains additional story material besides the flood. More