[wordup] Gilgamesh tomb believed found

[Adam Shand]

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2982891.stm

Gilgamesh tomb believed found

Archaeologists in Iraq believe they may have found the lost tomb of King 
Gilgamesh - the subject of the oldest "book" in history.

The Epic Of Gilgamesh - written by a Middle Eastern scholar 2,500 years 
before the birth of Christ - commemorated the life of the ruler of the 
city of Uruk, from which Iraq gets its name.

Now, a German-led expedition has discovered what is thought to be the 
entire city of Uruk - including, where the Euphrates once flowed, the 
last resting place of its famous King.

"I don't want to say definitely it was the grave of King Gilgamesh, but 
it looks very similar to that described in the epic," Jorg Fassbinder, 
of the Bavarian department of Historical Monuments in Munich, told the 
BBC World Service's Science in Action programme.

Magnetic

In the book - actually a set of inscribed clay tablets - Gilgamesh was 
described as having been buried under the Euphrates, in a tomb 
apparently constructed when the waters of the ancient river parted 
following his death.

"We found just outside the city an area in the middle of the former 
Euphrates river¿ the remains of such a building which could be 
interpreted as a burial," Mr Fassbinder said.

He said the amazing discovery of the ancient city under the Iraqi desert 
had been made possible by modern technology.

"By differences in magnetisation in the soil, you can look into the 
ground," Mr Fassbinder added.

"The difference between mudbricks and sediments in the Euphrates river 
gives a very detailed structure."

This creates a magnetogram, which is then digitally mapped, effectively 
giving a town plan of Uruk.

'Venice in the desert'

"The most surprising thing was that we found structures already 
described by Gilgamesh," Mr Fassbinder stated.

"We covered more than 100 hectares. We have found garden structures and 
field structures as described in the epic, and we found Babylonian houses."

But he said the most astonishing find was an incredibly sophisticated 
system of canals.

"Very clearly, we can see in the canals some structures showing that 
flooding destroyed some houses, which means it was a highly developed 
system.

"[It was] like Venice in the desert."