INA- SOURCES
A CLEVER team of scientists have managed to decipher the world's oldest map and claim it may show the location of "Noah's Ark".
The 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet has puzzled archaeologists for centuries with experts only uncovering the true meaning behind the mysterious relic in the past few weeks.
The patterned cuneiform tablet was discovered in the Middle East before being acquired by the British Museum in 1882.
Ever since it was found people have tried to figure out what the map-like symbols etched onto the tablet may mean.
The carvings have been dubbed Imago Mundi by scientists who say it shows an aerial view of Mesopotamia that dates back to the 6th century BC.
Ancient Mesopotamia - now known as modern-day Iraq - is surrounded by a double ring dubbed the “Bitter River,” which marked the borders of the known world at the time.
After over a month of analysing the symbols on both the back and front of the tablet, researchers now claim it shows clear references to Bible stories.
The back is said to act like a secret key showing travellers the route they may take and detailing what they should look out for.
One section reportedly says anyone on the journey must go through "seven leagues to see something that is thick as a parsiktu-vessel".
Based on other ancient Babylonian scriptures the word parsiktu typically helps to explain the size of a vessel needed to survive the Great Flood.
Another passage also appears to show a path to "Urartu" followed by instructions on how to get there.
Urartu is believed to be the place where a man and his family landed a gigantic ark they had made, according to ancient Mesopotamian poems.
Researchers say that Urartu - also known as Ararat - sits at the top of a mountain in Turkey and it is said to be where the ark sat following the 150-day flood.
British Museum cuneiform expert Dr. Irving Finkel says: "It shows that the story was the same, and of course that one led to the other but also, that from the Babylonian point of view, this was a matter of fact thing.
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