Gilgamesh: Tomb Believed Found

hamizao

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


Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds god, one-third human

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.

Who can compare with him in kingliness? Who can say, like Gilgamesh, I am king?
-The Epic Of Gilgamesh  

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."

By BBC News

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 16-5-2006 10:51 PM ]

hamizao

Gilgamesh was a  historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Euphrates in modern Iraq; he lived about 2700 B.C. Although historians (and your textbook) tend to emphasize Hammurabi and his code of law, the civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates area, among the first civilizations, focus rather on Gilgamesh and the legends accruing around him to explain, as it were, themselves. Many stories and myths were written about Gilgamesh, some of which were written down about 2000 B.C. in the Sumerian language on clay tablets which still survive; the Sumerian language, as far as we know, bears no relation to any other human language we know about.

These Sumerian Gilgamesh stories were integrated into a longer poem, versions of which survive not only in Akkadian (the Semitic language, related to Hebrew, spoken by the Babylonians) but also on tablets written in Hurrian and Hittite (an Indo-European language, a family of languages which includes Greek and English, spoken in Asia Minor). All the above languages were written in the script known as cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped." The fullest surviving version, from which the summary here is taken, is derived from twelve stone tablets, in the Akkadian language, found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria 669-633 B.C., at Nineveh. The library was destroyed by the Persians in 612 B.C., and all the tablets are damaged. The tablets actually name an author, which is extremely rare in the ancient world, for this particular version of the story: Shin-eqi-unninni. You are being introduced here to the oldest known human author we can name by name!



One of the clay tablets


Fragments of Tablet 11 (British Museum)

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 16-5-2006 11:42 PM ]

hamizao

Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds god, one-third human.

What does this mean?

The legend opens with, "sa nabe imuru," or, "he who saw everything..." This phrased is used again, by Greeks, to open the Oddesy of Homer.

"Man, being the king, who is as the image of god..." These phrases relate back to the Atra Hasis, where humans are believed to have been "made" by the Nefilim, in the Nefilim's own image. Gilgamesh was described as being two-thirds Nefilim and one-third human. The birthright of such a hybrid humans was being acknowledged in the same manner as in Genesis 6:1-4, "the mighty men of renown...," who were "born of the union of women with the sons of god."

The Nefilms were said to be a race of giants.  You may read about them in the internet.

The Epic of Gilgamesh focuses on a human character named Enkidu, who is uncivilized and lives, eats and mates with wild animals. He is ultimately tamed and befriended by Gilgamesh. The two become best friends, and they travel to distant lands and have a variety of adventures with friends and foes. The real "meat" of Epic happens when Enkidu, is killed. Gilgamesh is heartbroken. He becomes a man with a mission: to find eternal life.

Gilgamesh travels to where he has heard of eternal life -- to what is now Lebanon. He comes to a wide river and can go no further. He stops at a tent to rest and eat. Here he meets the innkeeper, Utnapishtam, who just happens to be very similar to the biblical Noah. The flood account of Utnapishtam is an earlier account -- almost 2000 years earlier -- than Genesis. It is likely that Genesis was based on this earlier account.

According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtam is warned of the flood well before it happens by one of the brother-gods, Enki. We know the complete legend of this warning from other tablets.

The chief deity, Anu, is disappointed that the hybrid humans have not progressed very far from their animal origins. There is talk among the godhead of what to do with the humans that were created, and some suggestions are considered. For a while, humans are deprived of food, at which point they are said to have resorted to cannibalism. Other extinction methods are tried until finally Anu announces that a "final solution" has been found.

The home planet of the godhead, the Nefilim, is called Nibiru. Anu announces that the next approach of Nibiru to Earth's orbit will take the two planets close enough to cause a massive tidal wave. He proclaims that the humans shall not be warned and, since they live along the coast and in low, fertile area, they will be summarily wiped off the face of the planet. The two sons, Enki and Enlil agree to remain silent.

The word "Nibiru" literally translated as "place of the crossing," but the "epic of Creation" (another Sumerian epic)  clarifies this meaning:

Planet Nibiru
The crossroads of heaven and earth shall he occupy
Above and below, they shall not go across
They must await him.
Planet Nibiru
Planet which is brilliant in the heavens
He holds the central position
To him they shall pay homage
Planet Nibiru
It is he who without living
The midst of Tiamut (Earth) keeps crossing
Let "Crossing" be his name
The one who occupies the midst.

(There is now great speculation about planet X. The Sumerians referred it as Nibiru.) :hmm::hmm:

Enki who has sympathy for some humans, arranges for Utnapishtam to "overhear" him talking aloud from behind a screen of reeds. He says things like, "a smart man would make himself a ship..." And so Utnapishtam is warned and Enki believes he has not violated his promise to Anu.

Rather than animals, Utnapishtam was told to bring humans with special skills, like stone masonry and animal husbandry and medicine on to the ship. Ultimately it rains, as predicted, and the ship and its cargo debark near Mt. Ararat in what is now Turkey. Here the story differs significantly from Genesis.

The first thing the sea-weary crew do on dry land is "burn" or cook some meat to eat. At this point, while the meat is burning, they are visited by members of the godhead who reward the survivors by telling them something of their origins and making a "pact" with Utnapishtam and his group.

Sumerian texts describe telling Utnapishtam that he is capable, by his Nefilim heritage, of abilities that he has never used. They suggest that he be taught how to use these abilities and he is thus initiated into what we would call "priesthood." The promise is made that the abilities must be used for the benefit of mankind only and not for selfish gain. The abilities are each taught in a hierarchy of strength, accompanied by some test of character or control of self. This system of Nefilim awareness is called "dur-an-ki" or the "bond heaven-earth."

Gilgamesh listens to this epic and then seeks eternal life in the form of a plant that grows under the sea. He ties heavy stones to his feet and walks the watery depths to retrieve this special plant, only to lose it to a snake while he rests on shore. The snake sheds its skin and moves on and the epic ends. Unlike the Hollywood "big ending" the message of Gilgamesh is undoubtedly in the adventure itself. It is a way of relating the history and legends of the Sumerains into one coherent epic.

If this is merely a legend, how would ancient people "make up" stories of extraterrestrial and other planets, or hybridization? If this was something unique to the Sumerian people, where did they develop this imagination? No prior evidence of Sumerian culture has been found anywhere else on the globe. :hmm: :hmm:

Ref: viewzone.com

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 17-5-2006 01:01 AM ]

Sephiroth

Hmm ... Interesting ... :hmm:

A friend of mine doing fanfics, maybe he likes this sort of things.

thamrong

Gilgamesh ! WHO THE HELL WAS THIS GUY IS ? :hmm::hmm:

hamizao

Originally posted by Sephiroth at 17-5-2006 07:45 AM
Hmm ... Interesting ... :hmm:

A friend of mine doing fanfics, maybe he likes this sort of things.

Hi, Sephi.
Ai seh................... just love ancient history...thats all lor!

hamizao

Originally posted by thamrong at 17-5-2006 10:25 AM
Gilgamesh ! WHO THE HELL WAS THIS GUY IS ? :hmm::hmm:

A little about him in post #2.

He is basically the subject of  The Epic of Gilgamesh an ancient Mesopotamian epic which now stand as the oldest of mankind's tale. However,  only 80% of it survived in some 70 clay "manuscripts" which were uncovered from a 7th BCE library of Ashurbanipal  (883-859 BCE) at Nineveh. Evidence revealed that the author of the "manuscripts" was a scholar from Uruk, not very far from Ur, the popularly known belief of the origin of  the patriach, Abraham. The stories in the "manuscripts" were said to be centuries earlier. Interestingly there were fragments of of even an earlier version dating back to Old Babylonian period circa 1800-1600 BCE which were even older than the Sumerian version.

The hero of the epic was a Sumerian King likely to have existed. The 5th listed king of Uruk was a Gilgamesh ("Bilgames" in Sumerian) said to have ruled after the legendary Great Flood. Working backwards, would put it around 2800/2700 BCE. His main deeds were the coquest of Kish (not far from Babylon) and the construction of the great walls of Uruk out of which legends grew.

There were a number of Sumerian tales from which the longer epic grew:

Bilgames and Agga (Akka) or The Envoys of Agga
Bilgames and the Cedar Mountain
Bilgames and the Bull of Heaven
Bilgames and the Netherworld
The Death of Bilgames

then

Epic of Gilgamesh

and there are other tales too. I love good stories...............perhaps I shall try to tell some of them later.....:bgrin:

ShadowChaser

may i ask somethng?

what exactly was uruk? was it an empire? or just a city of babylon
how come i've never heard of it before

hamizao

Originally posted by ShadowChaser at 17-5-2006 02:36 PM
may i ask somethng?

what exactly was uruk? was it an empire? or just a city of babylon
how come i've never heard of it before

The other name for Uruk is Erech as it is referred to in the Old Testament.  It was a city kingdom as it was with many Babylonian cities. They were also always at war, hence it would be common for a king to lord over a number of cities.

To date Uruk may be home of a number of "first" in terms of archaeological story:

1. Oldest monumental stone architecture
2. Earliest cylinder seals
3. Oldest writing - a pictographic script - the ancestor of cuneiform

all dating back to 5000 BCE. Now it was also home of the hero in the Epic. However it had a life-span of about 5000 years only when it was abandoned in 7th century CE.  The oldest layer that had layed buried deep in the mud had remained  virtually unexplored. That is why the news of the findings somewhat excites me. :bgrin::bgrin:

FaRiShAsYaHaNaZ

uish .... uruk ni tingat lak aku cite lotr!

Originally posted by hamizao at 16-5-2006 10:22 PM
Archaeologists in Iraq believe they may have found the lost tomb of King Gilgamesh - the subject of the oldest "book" in history.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3051/gilgamesh2on ...

A great finding indeed brother.

So it is confirmed that Samaria is indeed in Iraq as pointed out in holy Quran instead of a hill in Shemer as written in the bible.

This is one of the lies exposed to a claim by Ali Sina who is a champion among anti-muslim to disgrace Islam.

See below what Ali Sina claimed:

[quote]
In the Bible (Exodus 32) there is a story about Israelites worshiping a calf when Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God. When he returned he was angered and ordered 揺veryone to put on his sword and kill his brothers, his friends, and his neighbors

hamizao

Names may usually differ in different languages. However, what I know is,  Sumeria was what is now South Iraq and Samaria was in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. I am not sure whether Samaria had already existed during the time of Canaan. My 2 cents says it is quite possible.

My guideline is, the Quran prevails.

Maybe brother, you can try to research on another interesting  history of HAMAN

Do you mean Haman the Persian? Will see.........perhaps at another thread then.

hamizao

Characters

Agga(Akka), ruler of Kish
Bilgames(Gilgamesh), ruler of Uruk
Birhurturra, Bilgames' bodyguard

Plot

Through ebvoys, he ruler of Kish sends an ultimatum to the city of Uruk demanding submission. Though the council of elders recommends that he accede to the request, Bilgames rejects the decision and instead turns to an assembly of young warriors who choose to fight rather than surrender. Birhurturra volunteers to go as an emissary to persuade Agga to desist. However he is badly beaten but even then he remains defiant and declares that Bilgames  will ultimately triumph. Bilgames then leads  his people into battle., defeats the enemy and captures Agga. However, recalling a past favour, Bilgames shows Agga mercy and releases him.

Commentry

This happens to be the best preserced  Sumerian tale regarding Bilgames.The story celebrates defiance in defence of civic freedom and praises individuall courage. It also extols mercy as an attribute of effective leadership. It is a reflection of Sumerian political history and the story documents military conflict between city-states, in particular Uruk and Kish. It also showa the existence of bicamerial legislature in Sumer - the elders and young warriors whose views may be divergent. This is an earliest  literary evidence  in history of a politicaly charged generation gap. Gilgamesh is pictured here as a brave and resolute military leader who tempers with justice and mercy. The tale is purely secular.

Wah......................terasa macam tukang karut pulak!! :ah::ah:

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 18-5-2006 07:02 PM ]

taiaha

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=enc393%20
http://www.religioustolerance.org/name_mide.htm

[ Last edited by  taiaha at 19-5-2006 01:02 PM ]

ShadowChaser

very interesting

hamizao

"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.

Though there don't seem to be any further news on the findings,I  found some description of   Gilgamesh's tomb in the tale of "The Death of Bilgames". According to the tale, Bilgames had a dream on how men would honor him after his death. So when he  woke up from his dream he started planning his tomb. The tomb was to be built of stone and gold in the bed of the Euphrates, after the waters of the river have been diverted to permit excavation. There he would be buried together with members of his family, servants along with his possessions and presents for his gods whom he would meet later. I wonder ...............:hmm::hmm:

sephia_liza

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

Gilgamesh was believed to be two-thirds god, one-third human

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."

lotuslife

nice story about our story, our root

.Atheist..

menarik.... tak ada update?

September14

Aku duk layan anime fate n main 1 game ni adalah watak gilgamesh ni... so saja google nk tau sapa gilgamesh, enkidu dsb....