The ancient Babylonian map known as the Imago Mundi has given archaeologists a new mystery to explore: it includes what many are interpreting as directions to the location of a boat that resembles the Ark from the biblical flood story.
This 3,000-year-old clay tablet, held at the British Museum, maps out what Babylonians believed to be the “known world,” with Mesopotamia in the center and a “bitter river” encircling it. But it’s the text on the back that’s been getting all the attention, as it describes a specific journey to a mountain where travelers are promised to find a large vessel—much like Noah’s Ark.
Dr. Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, shared that the tablet’s writing contains instructions on reaching “Urartu,” an ancient location now known as Mount Ararat, where both Babylonian and biblical stories claim an ark came to rest. The Babylonian text refers to this ark as a massive structure built to survive a god-sent flood, bearing resemblance to the Ark described in the Bible.
A 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet just confirmed what many have long believed—the location of “Noah’s Ark” on Mount Ararat. Known as the Imago Mundi, this ancient map reinforces the belief that the ark came to rest in “Urartu” (Ararat). The tablet offers detailed instructions… pic.twitter.com/3UBe8BblPq
— Jon Fleetwood (@JonMFleetwood) October 29, 2024
While the journey is described in Babylonian cuneiform, the parallels are striking: this ark was crafted from a special kind of thick “parsiktu” material and built to shelter life during a devastating flood sent by the god Ea, paralleling the Bible’s account of Noah’s Ark.
The map’s text references a journey involving “seven leagues” through mountains, leading to a spot where a traveler might encounter this legendary vessel. This particular measurement, parsiktu, was significant for ancient Mesopotamians, and Dr. Finkel noted it’s also one of the few specific terms known from other cuneiform tablets describing ark-like vessels. Given the map’s age, it is extraordinary to think that Babylonians might have had this connection to an earlier flood legend that so closely aligns with the story of Noah.
— Adam Crigler (@AdamCrigler) October 29, 2024
Some archaeologists, including experts from Istanbul Technical University, have been excavating around Mount Ararat, where they’ve found human-related materials—clay, seafood remnants, and marine substances—dating back between 3,000 and 5,000 years, supporting the idea that humans were present in the region around the time such a flood might have taken place.
The oldest map of the world, over 2,700 years old- called the “Imago Mundi”, Babylonia around 700 BC.
Noah’s Flood pic.twitter.com/0Gxtmre1aa
— Tio Red Octo W. κρυπτός 🜃Φ🌹🇵🇸𓂀 🪬𒀭𒊩𒌆𒄑𒍣𒁕 (@Gandalf_ElPulpo) October 27, 2024
However, this discovery is not without debate. Dr. Andrew Snelling, a geologist, questions the Mount Ararat theory, citing that geological evidence suggests this mountain may have formed after any hypothetical flood receded.
Most mainstream scholars are cautious of viewing the Ark story as literal history. However, the striking similarities between the Babylonian flood account and the Biblical narrative keep researchers fascinated. And the Imago Mundi provides one of the most tantalizing glimpses yet into how ancient Mesopotamian civilizations might have viewed their world—one shaped by myths, gods, and perhaps, the memory of a catastrophic flood that forever changed their view of the world.
