Hymn to Babylon discovered, revealing ancient Mesopotamian city life
In a collaboration between Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Baghdad, an ancient Babylonian hymn dating back over two millennia has been rediscovered and fully deciphered.
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"Composed in the early first millennium BCE, the hymn was widely circulated in the ancient world, as evidenced by the many surviving copies. “The hymn was copied by children in school. It’s remarkable that such a popular text remained unknown until now,” Jiménez said.
Composed in cuneiform script on clay tablets, the hymn was uncovered among the renowned Sippar Library collection. According to legend, Noah had allegedly hidden this library before the biblical flood. In the larger effort of digitization and preservation of cuneiform texts globally, the rediscovery is a major achievement in both Mesopotamian studies and digital humanities."
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Dario Radley
