THE CODE engraved on an ancient Babylonian tablet has finally been deciphered by experts – and the message contains a frightening omen.
The research team has successfully decoded the 4,000-year-old text about lunar eclipses.
Despite incredible artifacts discovered more than a century ago, the British Museum’s collection of cuneiform tablets has remained untranslated.
But now researchers who focused on four tablets have cracked the code, in a historic breakthrough.
The writing tablets date back to around 1200 BC, from the ancient city of Sippar, in what is now Iraq.
Newly discovered texts reveal that the Babylonians viewed lunar eclipses as terrifying, ominous signs of death and destruction.
A Babylonian wrote on one of the tablets: “An eclipse in the morning watch [means] the end of a dynasty.”
Another warns chillingly: “If an eclipse is darkened from its center at once and clear at once: a king will die, destruction of Elam.”
The writings are believed to have been written by astrologers of the Mesopotamian civilization.
The tablets with the writings have now been labeled as the oldest known records of lunar eclipse omens.
In the Journal of Cuneiform Studies, where the texts were revealed, a researcher said: “The omens arising from lunar eclipses were of great importance for good policy and well-advised government.
“In later periods there is ample evidence to show that astrological observation was part of an elaborate method of protecting the king and regulating his behavior in accordance with the wishes of the gods.”
Some omens could previously have been based on coincidences between the timing of eclipses and major incidents.
Emeritus Professor of Babylon at the University of London told Live Science: “The origins of some of the omens may have lay in actual experience – observation of omen followed by catastrophe.”
It turns out that experts have managed to decipher an ancient 3,500-year-old stone tablet – and the message contained within is something we still do today.
The incredible artifact was discovered after works were carried out in the old town of Alalah, Reyhanli district of Hatay, Turkey, following two earthquakes.
The artifact is believed to date back to the 15th century BC.
According to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy, the stone tombstone contains records of, strangely enough, a shopping list.
A large shopping list for furniture is written on it, including wooden tables, chairs and benches.
The script originates from the Akkadian cuneiform era.
Although the earthquakes occurred last year in February 2023, the findings were only announced on Monday.
John Hopkins, a university faculty member and physician associate, worked with Jacob Lauinger and his doctoral student, Zeynep Türker.
According to its measurements, the old tablet is up to 4.2cm thick and weighs 28g.
This incredible discovery is expected to shed new light on the economic and state structure of the late Bronze Age, bringing its “rich” heritage to future generations.
Who were the Babylonians?
What to know about the Babylonians…
Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state based in the city of Babylon.
The Babylonians were an ancient civilization that ruled Mesopotamia for over a thousand years.
They were originally known as Amorites.
The Babylonians supposedly built on what the Sumerians laid the foundation for and built an empire with codified laws, a huge tower and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, US History reports.
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