Next thing you'll be claiming that's not the real Noah's ark in Kentucky.

Course it is'nt, everybody knows Noah's ark is in the British Museum storage

Quote from: FierceKitty on 04 August 2021, 10:44:13 AM
Next thing you'll be claim that's not the real Noah's ark in Kentucky.

Clearly not, since we know the original on whom Noah is based - Utnapishtim - had a round Ark, like a giant coracle, known as The Preserver Of Life.

Careful, that makes sense. Which can get you into trouble in some contexts. Fancy a go in the comfy chair?

I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition ....   

Nobody expects the Spanish Inqusition - our weapon is suprise and a fanatical devotion to the Pope....

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our four...no... Amongst our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise.... I'll come in again!

.... always a hoot! 

Quote from: Ithoriel on 04 August 2021, 10:48:47 AM
Clearly not, since we know the original on whom Noah is based - Utnapishtim - had a round Ark, like a giant coracle, known as The Preserver Of Life.

The link doesn't say it was round. Sounds more like a cube ..... was 200 feet in length, width and height, with a floor-space of one acre. The ark interior had seven floors, each floor divided into 9 sections, 

Any brainy mathematicians out there who can calculate how 1 acre of floor space might fit into these specifications if it was round, spherical or cuboid? 

[Nevertheless, sounds very small for what it was supposed to carry. Perhaps it was more likely to have been an enclosed Borg-like vessel that not only carried a small number of passengers and livestock but also included a DNA storage facility and clone laboratory?  Then again, perhaps not.  ]

Recent translations of an, until recently missing, part of the Epic of Gilgamesh suggests a round coracle like structure.

There is footage online of an experimental archaeological recreation of the Preserver Of Life.



Frankly, for me, speculation on the shape and dimensions of a fictional vessel is up there with angels and pin-heads, to be honest. However, it does show that the Sumerians could have created a vessel capable of holding an extended family and all their farm animals which could provide a kernel of truth for the story.

Perhaps I am too gullible but it seems there have been historical floods a plenty to provide an actual event which then gets embellished into the legends as the kids are told round the campfire.  How did we  survive dad?  Grandad built a boat.  How big was it?  Big.  Did it have all the animals in it? Yes. Was there enough room?  He only needed 2 of each.  How come the lions didnt eat the rest? There were sections.  How did he know he needed to build it?  God told him now shut up and go to sleep.

Definite evidence for Doggerbank going under and various villages in the med being now under water.  We in UK are "promised" rising sea levels real soon and 20m plus tsunamis I believe if the Las Palmas fault slides into the sea. 

Like Egypt, Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers, suffered from regular flooding. It would be more remarkable if they didn't have a Flood Story.

Conceived by a high born lady and an unknown father, carried to term in secret, placed in a basket of rushes, with a lid sealed with bitumen, cast into the great river, rescued from the waters, raised to manhood, achieving high rank at court.

Not Moses (14th–13th century BCE) but Sargon of Akkad (24th to 23rd centuries BCE).

Clearly some Bible stories predate the Bible itself.

If you've got an hour, the peculiarly entertaining Prof Irving Finkel discusses flood myths.





BTW, I was actually more interested in the mermaids.

Quote from: Ithoriel on 04 August 2021, 02:58:01 PM
Conceived by a high born lady and an unknown father, carried to term in secret, placed in a basket of rushes, with a lid sealed with bitumen, cast into the great river, rescued from the waters, raised to manhood, achieving high rank at court.

Not Moses (14th–13th century BCE) but Sargon of Akkad (24th to 23rd centuries BCE).

To be fair, that also describes a certain member of the Forum - and I don't mean Techno.

Quote from: fsn on 04 August 2021, 03:31:26 PM
If you've got an hour, the peculiarly entertaining Prof Irving Finkel discusses flood myths.

He's also good on the rules of The Royal Game Of Ur