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First came the rain...
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Then the flood...
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When you're telling the story
of the beginnings of humanity,
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the flood story
is part of that story.
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Then, with the rising
waters, a life-saving vessel.
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In the book of Genesis,
God asks Noah to build an ark.
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The Noah story serves
to provide a platform of understanding
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for all future disasters.
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It is the ultimate disaster.
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But where does
the story come from?
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An ancient tablet
may hold the answer.
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I took one look at it,
and to my astonishment I realized
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that this was another retelling
of the flood story.
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Far older than the Bible,
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the text describes a vessel
very different from Noah's.
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Everyone has
their image of the ark,
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and then suddenly we have this
one appear that says,
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"Hey, it's round!
It's a basket boat!"
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I think that's a fascinating
thing to look at.
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Now, a team of investigators
has set out to build the ark
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described in the tablet,
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traveling to the once lush
marshlands of Iraq,
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near the site of ancient
Babylon...
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A land that was ravaged
by regular floods.
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And to India, where craftspeople
skilled in ancient techniques
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will attempt to construct
a vessel large enough
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to withstand a major flood.
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I think if you brought
a Babylonian into the present
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to see this boat
when it's finished,
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that he would recognize it
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as something coming
from his culture.
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The story of the ark...
a turning point in history,
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when the Babylonian empire
collides
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with the world of the Bible.
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This is the moment the
history of the Jewish people begins.
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Not at the beginning of time...
After the flood.
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Climb on board to discover
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the "Secrets of Noah's Ark"...
Right now, on NOVA.
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MajAt the Israel Museumis
providein Jerusalem, owing...
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some of the oldest known
fragments of the Bible
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are being recorded
and preserved.
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The 2,000-year-old
Dead Sea Scrolls
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contain the first Biblical
reference
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to a cataclysmic flood.
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"The Lord saw how
great the wickedness
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"of the human race had become
on the earth.
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"So the Lord said, 'I will wipe
from the face of the earth
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"the human race I have created.'
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But Noah found favor in the eyes
of the Lord."
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5, 7 and 8.
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Today, the story of
Noah and the flood is central
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to the scriptures of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
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In the story, God sends a great
flood as punishment
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for the sins of humanity.
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Because it is
a moral, ethical God,
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the takeaway lesson, in effect,
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is that you better do
what this God wants;
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otherwise there will be
big trouble.
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The righteous Noah
is told by God to build an ark
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to save his family and a pair
of every type of animal.
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When the storm subsides,
Noah offers a sacrifice to God,
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who then makes a covenant
with Noah,
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promising that humanity will
never again be destroyed
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by flood.
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This pact between man and God
is the foundation of morality
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in the biblical book of Genesis.
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When you're telling the story
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of the beginnings of humanity,
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the flood story is part
of that story.
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Without
this moment of the flood,
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you have no framework within
which humans can develop
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the life that will permit
their perpetuity.
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You have to have it there.
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But why is a defining
moral tale in the Bible,
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forged in the desert hills
of Judea,
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shaped by a flood and a ship?
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Where did its authors
get the idea?
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The answer lies in the world's
first writing system.
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At the British Museum,
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Dr. Irving Finkel is one of
the world's few experts
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in the ancient script
called cuneiform.
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And he shares his knowledge
with all generations.
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This is an exercise
tablet from an ancient school.
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It's made of clay,
squashed flat,
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and the writing is done
on the surface of the clay.
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So they never wrote on paper or
papyrus like the Egyptians.
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Cuneiform evolved
in what is today modern Iraq,
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in an ancient area between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers:
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Mesopotamia, the cradle
of civilization.
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The earliest examples are
from around 5,000 years ago.
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Originally used for bookkeeping,
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its first marks are symbols
of commodities,
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like these ears of barley.
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But soon this picture-based
system develops
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into symbols representing
syllables.
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Divide the name
up into syllables.
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Henry will be He-en-ry.
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It was a tremendously
significant step
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for the human race because
it meant suddenly
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it became possible to record
language properly.
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Over the
course of two millennia,
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cuneiform tablets become
widespread
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throughout Mesopotamia.
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It's here,
during the 19th century,
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that British archaeologists
discover 130,000 of them,
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now under Irving's care.
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One of them told
an explosive story.
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In 1872, its secret was revealed
by a British museum assistant
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named George Smith.
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George Smith is a
bit of a hero of mine.
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He turned out to have
an absolute genius
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for understanding cuneiform
almost at sight.
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When Smith read the story
in this tablet,
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he read something that no person
had read since remote antiquity.
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In the tablet from 700 BCE,
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Smith was shocked to read key
parts of a flood story
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that closely resembled Noah.
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He discovered there
was going to be a deluge
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to destroy the world.
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The gods choose one human being
as a hero,
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and this character had
to build a boat
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in order to put life in it
to withstand the waters
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so that afterwards everything
could start all over again.
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I think he had a proper fit
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because of the shock
of discovering a text
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which he knew from
the Hebrew Bible by heart
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was suddenly there
in front of him
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in this totally strange medium.
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Smith found parallels
in even the most obscure details.
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In both stories, the flood hero
releases three sets of birds
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to find dry land.
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And both offer a sacrifice
that their god smells.
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The two texts were somehow
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strongly wedded together.
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They had a literary
relationship.
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One derived from the other.
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Over a thousand years,
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several versions of the
Babylonian flood myth emerged.
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Could the parallels between all
these Mesopotamian flood myths
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and Noah's story be
merely coincidence?
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There's a borrowing here.
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They're all different pictures
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of the same personage,
the same literary creation.
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There's an overall parallel.
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There are a number of very
specific points of parallel,
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which suggest that this is not
just a random association.
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But there is one major
the ark itself.
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In the Hebrew Bible, Noah builds
a massive rectangular boat.
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But in one of the earliest
Babylonian stories,
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the ark description is
incomplete.
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It says, "The ark you
are to build... be equal..."
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and then it's broken.
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Because the
tablet is missing a piece,
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features of the Babylonian ark
were a mystery.
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It would be almost a century
before a key clue would emerge.
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In 1948, a Royal Air Force
officer named Leonard Simmonds
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was serving in the Middle East.
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One day he went into a market
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and bought an interesting
looking piece of clay
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with strange inscriptions.
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The object lay forgotten
in his home for 40 years
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until his son took it
to the British Museum
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to see if it might be
of interest.
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Once in a while
manna from heaven
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falls just when you need it.
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The tablet was from the
ancient Mesopotamian kingdom
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of Babylonia.
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This is what
the tablet looks like.
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Nothing exceptional
until you start to read it.
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And I took one look at it,
and to my astonishment,
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I realized...
From the first lines only...
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That this was another retelling
of the flood story.
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But the inscription was squeezed
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onto a 4,000-year old,
badly damaged piece of clay.
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To confirm his first analysis,
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Irving takes the tablet
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to the International
Manufacturing Centre
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at Warwick University.
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They produce a perfect 3D model,
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allowing him to re-examine
the text in forensic detail.
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The tablet begins with
a Babylonian god's instructions
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to the hero of the story,
named Atra Hasis.
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He tells him
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to tear down the house and use
the materials to build a boat.
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And then comes a
detailed description of this boat.
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"Draw it out...
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...with the design of a circle."
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As you wade through this funny
script, you cannot deny
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that with was the idea...
It was a round boat.
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You think to yourself,
"How can this be?"
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The ark is one of the most
familiar iconic things
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in the whole world.
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But when you start
to think about it,
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we know that on the rivers
of Mesopotamia...
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The Euphrates and the Tigris
River... they had round boats.
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On a Mesopotamian seal
dated 2500 BCE is the cross-section
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of a round vessel.
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And at the British Museum are
other images of round boats...
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Called coracles... from 700 BCE
carrying cargoes of stone.
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00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:43,828
So is the tablet describing
a real vessel?
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It's supposed to be mythology.
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But as you go further down
the tablet,
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you discover that the
detailed specifications
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about how to build this thing
are given us.
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The tablet lists the
ark's components and proportions
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in detail, suggesting real
boat-building knowledge.
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00:13:05,218 --> 00:13:07,352
Instead of it
being made-up facts,
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we actually have details
predicated on the idea
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00:13:10,590 --> 00:13:12,891
of building a real coracle.
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00:13:12,893 --> 00:13:17,162
But the coracle described
in the tablet is enormous...
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00:13:17,164 --> 00:13:20,832
222 feet across.
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00:13:20,834 --> 00:13:22,300
So Irving wanted to know,
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00:13:22,302 --> 00:13:28,239
could such an enormous
round boat actually be built?
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00:13:28,241 --> 00:13:30,842
Quite frankly it seemed
to me the only possible thing
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00:13:30,844 --> 00:13:34,045
you could do was to take
these instructions
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00:13:34,047 --> 00:13:36,481
about how to build
a giant coracle
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00:13:36,483 --> 00:13:38,550
and build a giant coracle.
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00:13:41,220 --> 00:13:43,855
Very few boat builders
in the world have the expertise
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00:13:43,857 --> 00:13:45,890
to take up Irving's challenge.
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00:13:45,892 --> 00:13:48,726
But if there's one person
who can build such a vessel,
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00:13:48,728 --> 00:13:53,431
it's maritime archaeologist
Dr. Tom Vosmer.
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00:13:53,433 --> 00:13:56,568
Tom has built a career
from resurrecting ancient boats
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00:13:56,570 --> 00:13:58,403
from literary evidence.
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Everyone has
their image of the ark,
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00:14:02,576 --> 00:14:04,642
and then suddenly we have
this one appear that says,
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00:14:04,644 --> 00:14:06,611
"Hey, it's round!
It's a basket boat!"
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00:14:06,613 --> 00:14:09,514
I think that's a fascinating
thing to look at
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00:14:09,516 --> 00:14:12,450
and see if we can make it work.
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00:14:12,452 --> 00:14:15,653
With him is Eric Staples,
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00:14:15,655 --> 00:14:19,858
maritime historian
and boat builder...
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00:14:19,860 --> 00:14:21,993
And Alessandro Ghidoni,
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00:14:21,995 --> 00:14:24,929
a world expert in ancient boat
technology.
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00:14:24,931 --> 00:14:28,933
They've taken Irving's
translation of the tablet
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00:14:28,935 --> 00:14:31,102
and converted
the Babylonian measurements.
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00:14:31,104 --> 00:14:36,975
The scale of the ark...
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00:14:36,977 --> 00:14:41,679
So big its structure could never
support its weight.
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Its size...
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00:14:43,617 --> 00:14:45,650
It's obviously physically
impossible,
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00:14:45,652 --> 00:14:49,254
but let's try to see how far
we can push it,
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how large we can
actually make it.
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00:14:52,158 --> 00:14:56,127
Also, the
tablet lists materials,
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but doesn't say
how the Babylonians
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would have to put them together.
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00:15:00,133 --> 00:15:04,903
Luckily, there is more
recent evidence.
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00:15:04,905 --> 00:15:09,774
These images from the 1930s show
round Iraqi boats called quffas
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00:15:09,776 --> 00:15:14,445
ferrying passengers and goods.
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00:15:14,447 --> 00:15:19,651
In 1934, a British boat
historian named James Hornell
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00:15:19,653 --> 00:15:23,655
carried out detailed research
on quffas.
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00:15:23,657 --> 00:15:26,324
He wrote that they were made
of fibrous plants
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00:15:26,326 --> 00:15:30,061
found near waterways...
Either reeds or palm leaves...
251
00:15:30,063 --> 00:15:34,899
Bound into ropes and coiled
into a basket-like hull.
252
00:15:34,901 --> 00:15:38,469
Wooden ribs held the shape
of the hull,
253
00:15:38,471 --> 00:15:42,607
and a layer of bitumen,
or pitch, made it waterproof.
254
00:15:42,609 --> 00:15:45,977
These are the same
materials described
255
00:15:45,979 --> 00:15:51,416
in the 4,000-year-old ark tablet
that Irving Finkel analyzed.
256
00:15:51,418 --> 00:15:54,652
If the team is going to build
the kind of round boat described
257
00:15:54,654 --> 00:15:56,321
in the Babylonian myth,
258
00:15:56,323 --> 00:15:59,090
they need to examine
a more modern example.
259
00:16:14,206 --> 00:16:18,876
These are the heavily guarded
oilfields of southern Iraq.
260
00:16:18,878 --> 00:16:22,981
For any outsider,
traveling here is risky.
261
00:16:27,086 --> 00:16:28,386
Coming into
262
00:16:28,388 --> 00:16:30,955
what's described as
an unsecure environment
263
00:16:30,957 --> 00:16:34,292
in order to flesh out the
details of how to build
264
00:16:34,294 --> 00:16:36,494
a Babylonian ark
265
00:16:36,496 --> 00:16:38,363
is definitely a new one for me,
that's for sure.
266
00:16:38,365 --> 00:16:41,699
Eric needs to
reach one of the few places
267
00:16:41,701 --> 00:16:42,900
where there is evidence
268
00:16:42,902 --> 00:16:45,903
of Iraq's traditional
boat-building skills:
269
00:16:45,905 --> 00:16:49,540
the great marshes
of southern Iraq.
270
00:16:49,542 --> 00:16:52,143
This ancient aquatic wilderness
once covered
271
00:16:52,145 --> 00:16:54,545
12,000 square miles.
272
00:16:54,547 --> 00:16:58,816
It was home to hundreds
of thousands of Marsh Arabs.
273
00:16:58,818 --> 00:17:03,621
But much of it was drained by
Saddam Hussein in the early '90s
274
00:17:03,623 --> 00:17:06,457
to punish those resisting
his regime.
275
00:17:09,128 --> 00:17:12,697
Eric has come to meet
Azzam Alwash.
276
00:17:12,699 --> 00:17:16,334
Azzam is an expert in marsh
traditions and boat technology.
277
00:17:16,336 --> 00:17:21,839
And he also owns possibly the
last remaining quffa in Iraq.
278
00:17:21,841 --> 00:17:25,510
As modern roads, bridges and
river launches were built,
279
00:17:25,512 --> 00:17:28,946
quffas became obsolete.
280
00:17:28,948 --> 00:17:34,085
This example exists only because
Azzam had it constructed.
281
00:17:34,087 --> 00:17:37,188
Hello, Azzam.
282
00:17:37,190 --> 00:17:38,356
Pleasure meeting you.
Likewise.
283
00:17:38,358 --> 00:17:39,791
How are you doing?
Good. How are you?
284
00:17:39,793 --> 00:17:41,125
Good, good.
285
00:17:41,127 --> 00:17:42,627
So here's our quffa.
286
00:17:42,629 --> 00:17:44,462
This is the quffa.
287
00:17:44,464 --> 00:17:45,496
Wonderful.
288
00:17:45,498 --> 00:17:47,065
The building of this quffa
289
00:17:47,067 --> 00:17:49,467
started with weaving in circles.
290
00:17:49,469 --> 00:17:53,704
It's rings upon rings upon rings
woven together
291
00:17:53,706 --> 00:17:55,640
with traditional
weaving techniques.
292
00:17:55,642 --> 00:17:59,844
Eric recognizes the components
described in the ark tablet...
293
00:17:59,846 --> 00:18:04,482
The coiled rope of the hull,
made from marsh reeds;
294
00:18:04,484 --> 00:18:06,317
the wooden ribs of its skeleton;
295
00:18:06,319 --> 00:18:10,288
and waterproofing bitumen,
the asphalt-like substance
296
00:18:10,290 --> 00:18:12,490
that's been used to seal
the hulls of boats
297
00:18:12,492 --> 00:18:15,093
since antiquity.
298
00:18:15,095 --> 00:18:17,962
Do you think I could
give it a try?
299
00:18:17,964 --> 00:18:19,864
Sure, why not?
All right.
300
00:18:25,270 --> 00:18:27,405
Hey, nice little sailor!
301
00:18:27,407 --> 00:18:29,107
It's very stable,
302
00:18:29,109 --> 00:18:32,910
which is why it was once used
as an all-purpose ferry boat.
303
00:18:32,912 --> 00:18:35,646
But Eric wants to know
if it can be scaled up.
304
00:18:35,648 --> 00:18:41,319
And if so, how big can he build
a round boat?
305
00:18:41,321 --> 00:18:44,122
The 20th century historic
record indicates
306
00:18:44,124 --> 00:18:48,092
that the biggest quffas were up
to 18 feet in diameter,
307
00:18:48,094 --> 00:18:52,263
much less than the 222 feet
the tablet suggests.
308
00:18:52,265 --> 00:18:56,067
Could this be the limit
of the round boat technology,
309
00:18:56,069 --> 00:18:58,369
today and in ancient times?
310
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,609
Azzam takes Eric to see
a building technique
311
00:19:04,611 --> 00:19:11,849
that dates back more than 5,000
years... a reed house.
312
00:19:17,422 --> 00:19:20,158
So there it is.
313
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,660
The entire rigidity of this
structure comes from the tension
314
00:19:22,662 --> 00:19:25,429
built into these arches.
315
00:19:27,232 --> 00:19:31,435
There is no metal in the
building of these structures.
316
00:19:31,437 --> 00:19:32,870
It's reeds upon reeds
upon reeds.
317
00:19:32,872 --> 00:19:37,909
They are brought together by the
tension of these twisted reeds.
318
00:19:39,545 --> 00:19:42,079
Could the ancient
Babylonians have used
319
00:19:42,081 --> 00:19:45,583
this house-building technique
as the basis for constructing
320
00:19:45,585 --> 00:19:49,787
their large, round ark?
321
00:19:49,789 --> 00:19:51,956
The circle that runs around here
322
00:19:51,958 --> 00:19:55,826
is one way of basically holding
it all in together
323
00:19:55,828 --> 00:19:59,030
using the natural tension, the
strength of reeds, basically,
324
00:19:59,032 --> 00:20:00,164
because they're flexible,
325
00:20:00,166 --> 00:20:01,966
but there's still strength
within the flexibility,
326
00:20:01,968 --> 00:20:03,568
particularly when you bundle
them like this.
327
00:20:03,570 --> 00:20:06,938
But you're saying here that
this is going to be ten, 15 meters?
328
00:20:06,940 --> 00:20:07,972
Ten, 12 meters, yes, yes.
329
00:20:07,974 --> 00:20:10,208
Okay.
330
00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:15,046
Eric arrived with just
the 4,000-year-old tablet details.
331
00:20:15,048 --> 00:20:17,148
Now he has the beginnings
of a design
332
00:20:17,150 --> 00:20:20,751
for his large
Babylonian coracle.
333
00:20:20,753 --> 00:20:27,725
But many obstacles remain,
beginning with where to build.
334
00:20:27,727 --> 00:20:29,527
I'd love to build it in Iraq,
335
00:20:29,529 --> 00:20:32,263
but considering
the logistical issues
336
00:20:32,265 --> 00:20:37,969
and the security issues as well,
um, it's not realistic here.
337
00:20:37,971 --> 00:20:41,138
So the question is
where if not Iraq?
338
00:20:48,413 --> 00:20:51,782
Another question is
how credible is the tablet
339
00:20:51,784 --> 00:20:55,152
in describing the flood?
340
00:20:55,154 --> 00:20:58,756
Today, this region is desert.
341
00:20:58,758 --> 00:21:02,660
How likely is it that a great
flood could have inundated
342
00:21:02,662 --> 00:21:06,197
this parched landscape
thousands of years ago
343
00:21:06,199 --> 00:21:08,933
as the Babylonian myth
describes?
344
00:21:12,471 --> 00:21:16,374
This is one of the places that
gave birth to that legend,
345
00:21:16,376 --> 00:21:21,712
home of first the Sumerian,
then Babylonian Empires...
346
00:21:21,714 --> 00:21:23,848
The ancient city of Ur.
347
00:21:25,684 --> 00:21:28,286
Just 20 miles from
the great marshes,
348
00:21:28,288 --> 00:21:32,223
Ur dates back more than
5,000 years.
349
00:21:32,225 --> 00:21:35,426
It's here in 1928
350
00:21:35,428 --> 00:21:38,763
that British archaeologist
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley
351
00:21:38,765 --> 00:21:41,699
made a startling discovery.
352
00:21:41,701 --> 00:21:45,569
In 1922, Woolley and his team
came in search
353
00:21:45,571 --> 00:21:49,373
of early Mesopotamian
civilization.
354
00:21:49,375 --> 00:21:53,344
He found remains of
an entire royal dynasty,
355
00:21:53,346 --> 00:21:56,681
a testament to the
sophistication and power
356
00:21:56,683 --> 00:21:58,182
of the Sumerian elite.
357
00:22:00,152 --> 00:22:03,187
And then, he made an equally
stunning discovery...
358
00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:12,630
A distinctive layer of river
silt ten feet thick.
359
00:22:15,467 --> 00:22:18,135
It had been laid down
by a massive flood.
360
00:22:20,706 --> 00:22:24,342
The grandson of a member
of Woolley's team
361
00:22:24,344 --> 00:22:28,079
relates how the discovery evoked
the biblical story of Noah.
362
00:22:31,483 --> 00:22:34,952
They found layer
of sand to the south of Ur,
363
00:22:34,954 --> 00:22:36,053
north of Ur,
364
00:22:36,055 --> 00:22:37,822
and east and west.
365
00:22:37,824 --> 00:22:40,257
That mean that happen
a big flood
366
00:22:40,259 --> 00:22:41,659
and they thought that is
367
00:22:41,661 --> 00:22:43,961
the same flood of Noah,
the great man,
368
00:22:43,963 --> 00:22:45,296
the great prophet at that time.
369
00:22:45,298 --> 00:22:48,799
This connection to Noah's flood
370
00:22:48,801 --> 00:22:53,137
made the layer of sand more
famous than Ur's treasures.
371
00:22:55,073 --> 00:22:56,974
Especially when other
archaeologists began finding
372
00:22:56,976 --> 00:23:02,012
flood deposits in neighboring
cities like Uruk, Shuruppak,
373
00:23:02,014 --> 00:23:03,280
and Kish.
374
00:23:05,050 --> 00:23:08,953
The idea of a single
great flood grew.
375
00:23:08,955 --> 00:23:10,421
But there was a problem.
376
00:23:10,423 --> 00:23:13,157
When the layers were dated,
377
00:23:13,159 --> 00:23:16,060
they were found to be caused
by different events,
378
00:23:16,062 --> 00:23:18,696
spread over a thousand years.
379
00:23:18,698 --> 00:23:23,033
So was there ever really
a single great flood?
380
00:23:34,713 --> 00:23:37,214
Landscape archaeologist
Dr. Jenny Pournelle
381
00:23:37,216 --> 00:23:39,283
is looking for the answer.
382
00:23:39,285 --> 00:23:43,220
For over a decade,
Jenny has been investigating
383
00:23:43,222 --> 00:23:47,792
how the landscape of Iraq has
changed over thousands of years.
384
00:23:50,262 --> 00:23:53,030
Today she is taking
a core sample,
385
00:23:53,032 --> 00:23:57,134
part of a series
that covers a broad area.
386
00:24:01,907 --> 00:24:05,876
She's digging 68 miles south
of Ur,
387
00:24:05,878 --> 00:24:09,447
in a marshland that was recently
drained for oil exploitation.
388
00:24:09,449 --> 00:24:15,152
It's a chance for her to get a
piece of uncontaminated earth,
389
00:24:15,154 --> 00:24:17,054
essential for accurate dating.
390
00:24:17,056 --> 00:24:18,422
You can see
391
00:24:18,424 --> 00:24:21,192
this light, light grey silt,
and these little guys
392
00:24:21,194 --> 00:24:24,361
are very typical of freshwater
marshes around here.
393
00:24:24,363 --> 00:24:26,964
It means that our core
will have been protected
394
00:24:26,966 --> 00:24:29,934
by this marsh cover until
recently when it was drained.
395
00:24:29,936 --> 00:24:34,772
This core will help reveal
if ancient Mesopotamia was impacted
396
00:24:34,774 --> 00:24:37,441
by a cataclysmic flood.
397
00:24:39,411 --> 00:24:43,080
This should be
something like year zero.
398
00:24:43,082 --> 00:24:45,950
And that may be 1,000 BC.
399
00:24:45,952 --> 00:24:47,551
And if we're lucky,
400
00:24:47,553 --> 00:24:51,055
right about here is when
your ark tablet was written.
401
00:24:54,626 --> 00:24:57,294
So what does this sample show?
402
00:24:57,296 --> 00:24:59,763
They open it to see.
403
00:24:59,765 --> 00:25:01,866
We've got layers,
quite clear ones.
404
00:25:01,868 --> 00:25:03,868
See that nice orange sediment?
405
00:25:03,870 --> 00:25:07,037
It would suggest
that there was a river
406
00:25:07,039 --> 00:25:10,040
that periodically flooded
and deposited sediment.
407
00:25:12,310 --> 00:25:17,014
Evidence from cores like
this indicates that in ancient times,
408
00:25:17,016 --> 00:25:20,417
Mesopotamia was criss-crossed
by rivers and canals
409
00:25:20,419 --> 00:25:22,086
that flooded constantly.
410
00:25:24,089 --> 00:25:25,723
Every year
there are two floods...
411
00:25:25,725 --> 00:25:27,685
One in the spring,
one in the fall.
412
00:25:30,295 --> 00:25:31,729
As cities first grew,
413
00:25:31,731 --> 00:25:34,899
floods were part of
not just a natural cycle
414
00:25:34,901 --> 00:25:37,668
but an essential cycle.
415
00:25:37,670 --> 00:25:39,603
They were profoundly dependent
on the marshes
416
00:25:39,605 --> 00:25:42,006
and all of the wealth
of products
417
00:25:42,008 --> 00:25:44,174
that came out of them...
Food for themselves,
418
00:25:44,176 --> 00:25:46,877
food for livestock,
trade, commerce.
419
00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:53,450
Ur was one of many cities
that arose in this water world.
420
00:25:53,452 --> 00:25:56,620
The Euphrates River was
its life source.
421
00:25:56,622 --> 00:26:01,625
It delivered fertile soil,
fish, and wildfowl.
422
00:26:01,627 --> 00:26:04,161
But it could also bring
disaster.
423
00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:07,965
The Tigris, the Euphrates
424
00:26:07,967 --> 00:26:12,536
also had super floods every ten
years, every hundred years,
425
00:26:12,538 --> 00:26:15,205
every thousand years.
426
00:26:15,207 --> 00:26:19,043
When we have the first recorded
stories of the flood myth,
427
00:26:19,045 --> 00:26:21,712
the cities where these were
being written down
428
00:26:21,714 --> 00:26:23,847
are exactly in that
precarious position.
429
00:26:23,849 --> 00:26:27,184
They created around them
fragile environments.
430
00:26:27,186 --> 00:26:29,386
With the right amount of water,
431
00:26:29,388 --> 00:26:30,754
they can be incredibly
productive
432
00:26:30,756 --> 00:26:32,256
and incredibly wealthy.
433
00:26:32,258 --> 00:26:33,991
But with the wrong amount
of water,
434
00:26:33,993 --> 00:26:37,494
the very irrigation works they
need to produce that wealth
435
00:26:37,496 --> 00:26:38,996
are blown away.
436
00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:45,402
Everyone has a vested interest
in this flood story.
437
00:26:45,404 --> 00:26:48,706
Everyone knows that it makes
or breaks their careers,
438
00:26:48,708 --> 00:26:50,174
their livelihood.
439
00:26:51,643 --> 00:26:53,744
That would be the power
of the flood myth
440
00:26:53,746 --> 00:26:55,045
in this part of the world.
441
00:27:00,051 --> 00:27:03,787
So it wasn't a single great
flood that inspired the myths,
442
00:27:03,789 --> 00:27:07,958
but centuries
of periodic flooding.
443
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,328
And would a large round boat
have helped these ancient people
444
00:27:11,330 --> 00:27:14,164
to survive these floods?
445
00:27:14,166 --> 00:27:16,600
The boat building team
is trying to figure out
446
00:27:16,602 --> 00:27:19,236
if it could even
have been built at all.
447
00:27:26,945 --> 00:27:29,613
They found a place to build
their Babylonian coracle
448
00:27:29,615 --> 00:27:31,215
in southern India,
449
00:27:31,217 --> 00:27:36,487
where they can access the
materials listed in the tablet,
450
00:27:36,489 --> 00:27:40,557
and the skills to put them
together.
451
00:27:46,031 --> 00:27:49,533
Construction begins on the shore
of Lake Vembanad.
452
00:27:53,304 --> 00:27:55,873
The fibrous plants they will use
for the hull
453
00:27:55,875 --> 00:27:57,875
will be reeds
from a nearby marsh.
454
00:28:05,717 --> 00:28:08,619
Some of the 16.5 tons of wood
they will need
455
00:28:08,621 --> 00:28:11,488
arrives at the boatyard.
456
00:28:11,490 --> 00:28:15,192
They've settled on the size
of their ark...
457
00:28:15,194 --> 00:28:16,627
About 40 feet in diameter,
458
00:28:16,629 --> 00:28:19,496
just a fifth the size of the ark
described in the tablet.
459
00:28:22,167 --> 00:28:26,904
But at 40 feet,
it will weigh 35 tons...
460
00:28:26,906 --> 00:28:29,773
Right at the limit of what
they believe the materials
461
00:28:29,775 --> 00:28:33,410
and the ancient techniques
will stand.
462
00:28:33,412 --> 00:28:35,379
Once the ark is in the water,
463
00:28:35,381 --> 00:28:38,515
the bottom will flex,
straining the frame,
464
00:28:38,517 --> 00:28:41,018
possibly causing it to break.
465
00:28:41,020 --> 00:28:44,254
The bigger the ark,
the bigger the pressure.
466
00:28:47,292 --> 00:28:50,094
The largest
quffas that I'm aware of
467
00:28:50,096 --> 00:28:51,929
may be six meters.
468
00:28:51,931 --> 00:28:54,431
This we're pushing beyond that.
469
00:28:54,433 --> 00:28:57,768
It's actually eight times
as big as a six-meter one.
470
00:28:57,770 --> 00:29:00,237
So we're increasing the forces
471
00:29:00,239 --> 00:29:02,239
we have to contend with
exponentially.
472
00:29:05,310 --> 00:29:08,746
To hold the frame
together, they will reinforce it,
473
00:29:08,748 --> 00:29:10,547
combining basic engineering
474
00:29:10,549 --> 00:29:13,417
with known Babylonian
carpentry techniques.
475
00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:21,291
The Ark Tablet states that
the flood vessel has 30 ribs.
476
00:29:21,293 --> 00:29:25,195
They lock these ribs
in a latticework.
477
00:29:25,197 --> 00:29:30,367
Tensioned bands will hold
the tops of the ribs together.
478
00:29:30,369 --> 00:29:34,271
The deck layer will add
further rigidity.
479
00:29:34,273 --> 00:29:37,141
And a forest of stanchions
will prevent the bottom
480
00:29:37,143 --> 00:29:39,309
from collapsing upwards.
481
00:29:39,311 --> 00:29:41,879
Maybe it's all going
to fall apart, who knows?
482
00:29:41,881 --> 00:29:44,848
But maybe it will succeed
and we'll think,
483
00:29:44,850 --> 00:29:47,484
"Ah, we could have pushed it
a little bit more!"
484
00:29:49,888 --> 00:29:53,157
The ark will contain
more than 800 pieces of wood
485
00:29:53,159 --> 00:29:56,193
in 6,000 individual connections,
486
00:29:56,195 --> 00:29:59,429
cut and shaped
using traditional tools.
487
00:29:59,431 --> 00:30:04,034
There will be no metal,
modern sealant or adhesive.
488
00:30:06,838 --> 00:30:10,908
As instructed by the tablet,
the team also begins
489
00:30:10,910 --> 00:30:14,011
to bind reeds into
tightly packed lengths of rope.
490
00:30:19,717 --> 00:30:24,454
They'll need a mile and a half
to cover the entire hull.
491
00:30:26,658 --> 00:30:29,293
You have this little coil
that then starts spiraling out.
492
00:30:29,295 --> 00:30:31,328
The idea is that you can
gradually create
493
00:30:31,330 --> 00:30:35,165
a gigantic basket,
basically made of grass.
494
00:30:40,371 --> 00:30:43,774
As the beginning of the
reed coil is lashed into place,
495
00:30:43,776 --> 00:30:46,376
they turn their attention
to the next major challenge:
496
00:30:46,378 --> 00:30:49,246
waterproofing.
497
00:30:49,248 --> 00:30:50,848
The tablet calls
for natural bitumen...
498
00:30:50,850 --> 00:30:53,584
Which doesn't exist in India,
499
00:30:53,586 --> 00:30:57,387
but is found oozing out
of the ground in Iraq.
500
00:30:57,389 --> 00:31:01,391
Natural bitumen
has unique impurities,
501
00:31:01,393 --> 00:31:03,827
which make it adhesive
and resistant to heat.
502
00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:08,765
Alessandro, the team's expert
in ancient boat technology,
503
00:31:08,767 --> 00:31:12,436
needs to re-create
these properties,
504
00:31:12,438 --> 00:31:15,138
starting with
refined industrial bitumen.
505
00:31:15,140 --> 00:31:16,773
He adds animal fat and fish oil
506
00:31:16,775 --> 00:31:18,876
to make it sticky,
507
00:31:18,878 --> 00:31:21,612
and lime powder made
from burnt lake shells
508
00:31:21,614 --> 00:31:23,881
to give it heat tolerance.
509
00:31:26,517 --> 00:31:30,420
Getting the balance of these
ingredients right is critical.
510
00:31:33,157 --> 00:31:36,193
If you put too much lime
powder it will get very hard,
511
00:31:36,195 --> 00:31:37,794
it will resist
at high temperature,
512
00:31:37,796 --> 00:31:38,796
but it won't stick.
513
00:31:40,231 --> 00:31:42,933
If you put too much fish oil
or animal fat,
514
00:31:42,935 --> 00:31:45,035
it will stick easily...
515
00:31:45,037 --> 00:31:46,103
It's getting more dense...
516
00:31:46,105 --> 00:31:48,238
...but it will melt
under the sun basically.
517
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,674
Put it down.
518
00:31:50,676 --> 00:31:52,342
Alessandro's cooking
skills will determine
519
00:31:52,344 --> 00:31:54,378
whether the ark
will float or not.
520
00:31:54,380 --> 00:31:56,780
Up, like this...
521
00:31:56,782 --> 00:31:59,850
They've given
themselves six months to build,
522
00:31:59,852 --> 00:32:02,319
the recorded gap
between seasonal floods
523
00:32:02,321 --> 00:32:03,887
in ancient Mesopotamia.
524
00:32:05,456 --> 00:32:08,458
Then, they'll face the greatest
challenge of all:
525
00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:10,727
getting the ark into the lake.
526
00:32:13,197 --> 00:32:14,698
A boat usually has a keel
527
00:32:14,700 --> 00:32:18,268
that can support it
as it slides into the water.
528
00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:21,204
A round boat has no keel.
529
00:32:21,206 --> 00:32:25,943
And this one will be covered
in a fragile layer of bitumen.
530
00:32:25,945 --> 00:32:27,477
You cannot drag the boat
on the ground,
531
00:32:27,479 --> 00:32:28,479
you cannot pull it.
532
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,348
The bitumen layer
is extremely delicate,
533
00:32:31,350 --> 00:32:33,617
it's very soft,
and you don't want it damaged,
534
00:32:33,619 --> 00:32:36,653
because it's the only,
basically, layer
535
00:32:36,655 --> 00:32:39,356
that keeps the whole boat
waterproof.
536
00:32:39,358 --> 00:32:42,192
Without the bitumen,
the boat won't float.
537
00:32:43,594 --> 00:32:46,830
How would the Babylonians
have launched the boat?
538
00:32:46,832 --> 00:32:50,033
The Ark Tablet doesn't say.
539
00:32:50,035 --> 00:32:53,570
The hero, Atra Hasis,
simply waits for the flood.
540
00:32:57,241 --> 00:32:58,642
It is one of the big questions,
541
00:32:58,644 --> 00:33:00,110
sort of a burning question of,
you know,
542
00:33:00,112 --> 00:33:02,379
if a boat this large
could actually have been built,
543
00:33:02,381 --> 00:33:04,815
unless there was a flood
it would have been
544
00:33:04,817 --> 00:33:06,717
incredibly difficult to launch.
545
00:33:10,388 --> 00:33:12,823
A vessel like this
could have meant survival
546
00:33:12,825 --> 00:33:16,426
in a world of constant flooding.
547
00:33:16,428 --> 00:33:19,262
But at some point, those floods
become mythologized
548
00:33:19,264 --> 00:33:22,099
into a single great deluge
549
00:33:22,101 --> 00:33:24,534
and real coracles are turned
550
00:33:24,536 --> 00:33:27,904
into a single giant ark
of legend.
551
00:33:27,906 --> 00:33:30,807
And somehow that legend
of the round ark
552
00:33:30,809 --> 00:33:34,177
becomes the familiar boat shape
in the story of Noah.
553
00:33:34,179 --> 00:33:38,281
How does such
a transition occur?
554
00:33:38,283 --> 00:33:41,585
The answer lies in a great
innovation of the ancient world:
555
00:33:41,587 --> 00:33:43,086
cuneiform writing.
556
00:33:45,256 --> 00:33:47,891
Originally all these
stories circulated orally.
557
00:33:47,893 --> 00:33:50,494
And around 2000 BC,
558
00:33:50,496 --> 00:33:53,497
we see for the first time
that these narratives
559
00:33:53,499 --> 00:33:56,233
became reduced to writing.
560
00:33:56,235 --> 00:33:59,536
And from that moment
they are fixed rigidly.
561
00:33:59,538 --> 00:34:02,939
So you have an established text
which all the scribes copy.
562
00:34:02,941 --> 00:34:06,276
And in the process
of copying, errors creep in.
563
00:34:06,278 --> 00:34:09,079
Irving Finkel believes
one of these errors
564
00:34:09,081 --> 00:34:12,015
changes the shape of the ark.
565
00:34:12,017 --> 00:34:15,452
The Ark Tablet,
dated around 1750 BCE...
566
00:34:15,454 --> 00:34:17,621
4,000 years old...
567
00:34:17,623 --> 00:34:20,724
Places the round ark
inside a square
568
00:34:20,726 --> 00:34:23,460
to help define its dimensions.
569
00:34:23,462 --> 00:34:28,131
By 700 BCE, the Atra Hasis
flood tale has been absorbed
570
00:34:28,133 --> 00:34:30,367
into a more famous story,
571
00:34:30,369 --> 00:34:34,337
the exploits of a hero king
in The Epic of Gilgamesh.
572
00:34:34,339 --> 00:34:38,875
But here, scribes omit
the mention of the circle.
573
00:34:38,877 --> 00:34:42,379
We have these later
scribes who have an old text.
574
00:34:42,381 --> 00:34:44,381
They look at it and they decide,
575
00:34:44,383 --> 00:34:47,184
"Well, all this technical stuff,
we don't need it,"
576
00:34:47,186 --> 00:34:49,219
and they don't read the thing
very carefully at all
577
00:34:49,221 --> 00:34:51,922
because in the description
about how round it was,
578
00:34:51,924 --> 00:34:54,224
they miss the point.
579
00:34:54,226 --> 00:34:56,159
As a result,
according to Irving,
580
00:34:56,161 --> 00:35:00,497
the Gilgamesh ark
has a very strange shape.
581
00:35:00,499 --> 00:35:04,034
So it's like a
kind of skyscraper.
582
00:35:04,036 --> 00:35:05,702
What would happen
if you put that in the sea?
583
00:35:05,704 --> 00:35:06,703
It would sink, wouldn't it?
584
00:35:06,705 --> 00:35:08,138
Especially if it was
full of animals.
585
00:35:08,140 --> 00:35:10,307
It's absolutely hopeless.
586
00:35:10,309 --> 00:35:13,176
Over time, the
mythical ark loses touch
587
00:35:13,178 --> 00:35:16,079
with the reality
that likely inspired it.
588
00:35:16,081 --> 00:35:18,348
It sets off
on a literary journey,
589
00:35:18,350 --> 00:35:21,451
changing
with new interpretations.
590
00:35:21,453 --> 00:35:24,187
There is a rather
ironic consequence.
591
00:35:24,189 --> 00:35:27,290
You have the possibility
of an error being consolidated,
592
00:35:27,292 --> 00:35:29,993
copied and recopied until nobody
thinks about it anymore
593
00:35:29,995 --> 00:35:31,461
and they just take it
for granted.
594
00:35:31,463 --> 00:35:34,898
And that is surely what happened
with the shape of the ark.
595
00:35:34,900 --> 00:35:38,435
It eventually
adopts the boat shape we know
596
00:35:38,437 --> 00:35:40,070
in the story of Noah.
597
00:35:46,811 --> 00:35:49,679
And the rest of the story
changes too.
598
00:35:49,681 --> 00:35:54,718
Almost 2,000 years after
the first Babylonian version,
599
00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:58,288
the flood story is found
outside Mesopotamia,
600
00:35:58,290 --> 00:36:00,657
in the Hebrew Bible.
601
00:36:00,659 --> 00:36:02,859
There's just no way
of explaining the story
602
00:36:02,861 --> 00:36:05,896
in Genesis except
as a borrowing.
603
00:36:05,898 --> 00:36:08,598
The question is,
when, how and why?
604
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:12,536
It's long been assumed
that trade and cultural exchange
605
00:36:12,538 --> 00:36:16,406
bring the Babylonian story
to ancient Israel.
606
00:36:16,408 --> 00:36:20,777
But this doesn't explain why
biblical writers adopt the tale
607
00:36:20,779 --> 00:36:23,346
and give it a moral twist.
608
00:36:23,348 --> 00:36:25,315
In the Mesopotamian myth,
609
00:36:25,317 --> 00:36:28,451
pagan gods are disturbed
by human noise
610
00:36:28,453 --> 00:36:31,988
and use the flood
to reduce their numbers.
611
00:36:31,990 --> 00:36:34,858
But in the book of Genesis,
the flood is a disaster
612
00:36:34,860 --> 00:36:39,396
that God uses to punish people
for their sins.
613
00:36:39,398 --> 00:36:43,200
The Noah story serves
614
00:36:43,202 --> 00:36:46,169
to provide a platform
of understanding
615
00:36:46,171 --> 00:36:48,672
for all future disasters.
616
00:36:48,674 --> 00:36:52,475
It is the ultimate disaster.
617
00:36:52,477 --> 00:36:54,244
It was not just
natural disasters
618
00:36:54,246 --> 00:36:56,479
that were attributed to God,
619
00:36:56,481 --> 00:36:59,950
it was also historical
disasters.
620
00:36:59,952 --> 00:37:02,886
The history of the
people to be known as Jews
621
00:37:02,888 --> 00:37:06,022
is filled with disasters
that are reflected in the Bible.
622
00:37:06,024 --> 00:37:10,393
But many experts believe
there is one in particular
623
00:37:10,395 --> 00:37:13,763
which provides an explanation
for the story of Noah.
624
00:37:21,006 --> 00:37:26,576
The Babylonian destruction
of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.
625
00:37:29,714 --> 00:37:32,148
A consequence
of the Judean kingdom's failure
626
00:37:32,150 --> 00:37:35,385
to pay tribute.
627
00:37:35,387 --> 00:37:37,654
If somebody is not
paying their taxes,
628
00:37:37,656 --> 00:37:40,090
not paying tribute
as they're supposed to,
629
00:37:40,092 --> 00:37:41,725
you have to make
an example of them,
630
00:37:41,727 --> 00:37:44,394
so you need to come in
and show the world
631
00:37:44,396 --> 00:37:46,436
what your power is capable
of enforcing.
632
00:37:49,867 --> 00:37:52,936
Several thousand Judeans...
633
00:37:52,938 --> 00:37:55,772
The educated and the powerful
of ancient Israel...
634
00:37:55,774 --> 00:38:00,277
Were marched about 1,000 miles
to Babylon.
635
00:38:00,279 --> 00:38:02,879
The Babylonians needed manpower.
636
00:38:02,881 --> 00:38:04,547
They had fields that needed
to be cultivated
637
00:38:04,549 --> 00:38:07,984
and craftsmen that needed
to be imported
638
00:38:07,986 --> 00:38:10,820
to make the tremendous buildings
and other things
639
00:38:10,822 --> 00:38:14,157
that they did,
so you imported manpower
640
00:38:14,159 --> 00:38:16,493
to do those kinds of things.
641
00:38:16,495 --> 00:38:18,928
I think for a lot of people
there probably was a sense
642
00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:23,066
that this is the end
of the world as we know it.
643
00:38:23,068 --> 00:38:27,704
"Our tormentors
demanded songs of joy.
644
00:38:27,706 --> 00:38:31,975
"They said, 'Sing us one
of the songs of Zion!'
645
00:38:31,977 --> 00:38:34,711
"But how can we sing the songs
of the Lord
646
00:38:34,713 --> 00:38:38,515
while in a foreign land?"
647
00:38:38,517 --> 00:38:42,385
3 and 4.
648
00:38:43,954 --> 00:38:46,856
Yet this traumatic
uprooting brought the Judeans
649
00:38:46,858 --> 00:38:50,360
into direct contact
with Babylonian culture.
650
00:38:50,362 --> 00:38:54,364
And that would shape the destiny
of their scripture
651
00:38:54,366 --> 00:38:56,466
and the story of Noah.
652
00:39:05,476 --> 00:39:08,978
One of the greatest collections
of Babylonian relics
653
00:39:08,980 --> 00:39:11,614
in the world is found here,
654
00:39:11,616 --> 00:39:14,184
at the Pergamon Museum
in Berlin.
655
00:39:17,521 --> 00:39:21,091
It includes a reconstruction
of the entrance to Babylon.
656
00:39:24,028 --> 00:39:28,932
The newly arrived Judeans would
have walked through this gate.
657
00:39:28,934 --> 00:39:31,000
On the other side was a world
658
00:39:31,002 --> 00:39:34,571
they could scarcely
have imagined.
659
00:39:41,412 --> 00:39:43,813
In the sixth century BCE,
660
00:39:43,815 --> 00:39:49,786
Babylon was the most
cosmopolitan city on earth.
661
00:39:49,788 --> 00:39:53,189
But what was
the Judean experience?
662
00:39:53,191 --> 00:39:56,326
Dr. Cornelia Wunsch is an expert
663
00:39:56,328 --> 00:39:59,362
in Neo-Babylonian culture.
664
00:39:59,364 --> 00:40:02,232
She has evidence suggesting
exile in Babylon
665
00:40:02,234 --> 00:40:06,302
wasn't as bad as the Judeans
might have feared.
666
00:40:06,304 --> 00:40:08,438
They have been allotted land
667
00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:12,942
and they are tilling the land,
building houses
668
00:40:12,944 --> 00:40:16,146
and they are doing
reasonably well there.
669
00:40:16,148 --> 00:40:18,415
It may have been awful
at the beginning
670
00:40:18,417 --> 00:40:20,650
and nobody wanted
to be in exile,
671
00:40:20,652 --> 00:40:23,086
but very quickly,
things got good.
672
00:40:23,088 --> 00:40:27,023
Judea made it after one
or two generations.
673
00:40:27,025 --> 00:40:29,759
They were well ensconced
into the Babylonian economies.
674
00:40:29,761 --> 00:40:30,960
They did well.
675
00:40:30,962 --> 00:40:33,596
A Babylonian-style personal seal
676
00:40:33,598 --> 00:40:37,033
of a Judean merchant
named Arricam
677
00:40:37,035 --> 00:40:38,835
suggests how assimilated
678
00:40:38,837 --> 00:40:43,273
some Judeans were
in this new society.
679
00:40:43,275 --> 00:40:45,041
He certainly
led a dual existence.
680
00:40:45,043 --> 00:40:48,912
Arricam is clearly
showing himself
681
00:40:48,914 --> 00:40:51,714
as a person of Judean descent,
but on the other hand
682
00:40:51,716 --> 00:40:54,150
as a typical
Babylonian businessman.
683
00:40:54,152 --> 00:40:57,320
Many Judeans in
Babylon were well integrated
684
00:40:57,322 --> 00:40:59,589
into Babylonian culture.
685
00:40:59,591 --> 00:41:02,625
But they also preserved
their own traditions.
686
00:41:02,627 --> 00:41:05,161
This was the case
for Judean scribes,
687
00:41:05,163 --> 00:41:08,231
who were editing traditional
stories and prayers
688
00:41:08,233 --> 00:41:11,401
and writing new ones
689
00:41:11,403 --> 00:41:13,736
that would ultimately become
the Hebrew Bible.
690
00:41:13,738 --> 00:41:15,405
These priestly
authors, obviously,
691
00:41:15,407 --> 00:41:18,074
had the exile on their minds.
692
00:41:18,076 --> 00:41:19,943
And one of the most significant
aspects of this event
693
00:41:19,945 --> 00:41:21,644
was the formation of the Bible.
694
00:41:21,646 --> 00:41:25,148
It began in Babylon.
695
00:41:25,150 --> 00:41:30,186
Some of these books were already
in process but seem to have been
696
00:41:30,188 --> 00:41:33,122
shaped by the experience
of the exile.
697
00:41:35,025 --> 00:41:40,029
In the center of
Babylon is a giant ziggurat.
698
00:41:40,031 --> 00:41:43,399
In the book of Genesis
it becomes the ultimate symbol
699
00:41:43,401 --> 00:41:46,970
of human folly...
The Tower of Babel.
700
00:41:55,446 --> 00:41:56,779
For Irving Finkel,
701
00:41:56,781 --> 00:42:00,149
this borrowing is just
one of many.
702
00:42:00,151 --> 00:42:04,187
In collaboration with
the Archaeological Institute
703
00:42:04,189 --> 00:42:06,456
in Berlin, he examines
extraordinary evidence
704
00:42:06,458 --> 00:42:09,325
that links some elements
of Babylonian literature
705
00:42:09,327 --> 00:42:12,328
with the beginnings
of the Hebrew Bible.
706
00:42:14,031 --> 00:42:17,967
One is the story of King Sargon,
who was cast adrift
707
00:42:17,969 --> 00:42:20,503
by his mother in a round basket
708
00:42:20,505 --> 00:42:23,106
to save him
from being discovered.
709
00:42:23,108 --> 00:42:28,111
She made a little ark
out of reeds and bitumen
710
00:42:28,113 --> 00:42:31,414
and she put the baby in this ark
and she put the ark in the river
711
00:42:31,416 --> 00:42:32,749
and away it went.
712
00:42:32,751 --> 00:42:36,486
Now, this is a story which has
a certain familiar ring about it
713
00:42:36,488 --> 00:42:38,521
from the book of Exodus
point of view
714
00:42:38,523 --> 00:42:42,725
because Moses was given
the same kind of origin.
715
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:46,829
There's also a
list of Babylonian kings
716
00:42:46,831 --> 00:42:48,231
before the flood,
717
00:42:48,233 --> 00:42:50,333
very similar to Adam's genealogy
718
00:42:50,335 --> 00:42:53,036
described
in the book of Genesis.
719
00:42:54,738 --> 00:42:56,639
But the most amazing piece
of evidence is written
720
00:42:56,641 --> 00:43:01,110
on a Babylonian school tablet...
A retelling of Gilgamesh,
721
00:43:01,112 --> 00:43:05,582
the epic poem that contains
the flood story.
722
00:43:05,584 --> 00:43:06,916
What does it tell us?
723
00:43:06,918 --> 00:43:09,352
It tells us that you have
at this time in Babylonia,
724
00:43:09,354 --> 00:43:12,689
schoolrooms where
the Gilgamesh story,
725
00:43:12,691 --> 00:43:16,125
undoubtedly including the flood
story, was on the curriculum.
726
00:43:16,127 --> 00:43:21,097
Could Judean children
have read these same stories?
727
00:43:21,099 --> 00:43:25,668
A detail in the Bible's book
of Daniel suggests they did.
728
00:43:25,670 --> 00:43:26,936
According to the story,
729
00:43:26,938 --> 00:43:30,373
Daniel was the son
of an exiled Judean nobleman.
730
00:43:30,375 --> 00:43:32,942
In Babylon, the Bible says,
he and his friends
731
00:43:32,944 --> 00:43:36,512
were taught to read cuneiform.
732
00:43:36,514 --> 00:43:41,618
Just as these children discover,
learning cuneiform isn't hard.
733
00:43:41,620 --> 00:43:45,622
It would have made Babylonian
stories easy to absorb.
734
00:43:45,624 --> 00:43:48,992
These kids
suddenly find themselves
735
00:43:48,994 --> 00:43:50,560
learning these very narratives
736
00:43:50,562 --> 00:43:54,197
which seem to us the essential
Babylonian narratives
737
00:43:54,199 --> 00:43:56,366
that ended up embedded
in Judean Hebrew.
738
00:44:01,405 --> 00:44:03,806
The idea that it was Judeans
739
00:44:03,808 --> 00:44:06,876
in Babylonian captivity
who learned cuneiform
740
00:44:06,878 --> 00:44:08,678
and adopted the flood story
741
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:11,347
is to me the only decent
explanation that you can have.
742
00:44:11,349 --> 00:44:17,420
If this theory is correct,
stories like Noah and the Flood
743
00:44:17,422 --> 00:44:21,224
were widespread
in Babylonian culture
744
00:44:21,226 --> 00:44:24,694
and absoed
into Judean scripture.
745
00:44:26,230 --> 00:44:28,431
They would eventually become
the moral teaching
746
00:44:28,433 --> 00:44:33,169
for three great faiths.
747
00:44:33,171 --> 00:44:37,340
But not until the Judeans
emerged from exile.
748
00:44:41,345 --> 00:44:48,284
In India, the Babylonian ark
is almost complete.
749
00:44:48,286 --> 00:44:51,387
And unlike the Babylonians...
750
00:44:51,389 --> 00:44:53,723
Who would have just waited
for the floodwaters to rise...
751
00:44:53,725 --> 00:44:56,793
The building team has had
to find a way to launch the ark
752
00:44:56,795 --> 00:45:01,197
without dragging its fragile
hull across the ground.
753
00:45:01,199 --> 00:45:03,866
We have two rails running
straight underneath the ark
754
00:45:03,868 --> 00:45:05,101
into the water.
755
00:45:05,103 --> 00:45:08,337
So on top of these rails,
we are going to put rollers.
756
00:45:10,274 --> 00:45:11,641
And then on top of the rollers,
757
00:45:11,643 --> 00:45:13,843
we're going to have
another set of runners.
758
00:45:16,346 --> 00:45:18,948
And then sitting on top
of these runners,
759
00:45:18,950 --> 00:45:21,718
we have the launch platform.
760
00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:23,640
And then on top
of the platform...
761
00:45:25,222 --> 00:45:27,690
Is the ark.
762
00:45:27,692 --> 00:45:30,259
Once she's all ready go,
763
00:45:30,261 --> 00:45:32,028
basically just roll
into the lake.
764
00:45:32,030 --> 00:45:34,964
It's a traditional
boat launching technique.
765
00:45:34,966 --> 00:45:38,568
But they've had to resort
to modern machinery
766
00:45:38,570 --> 00:45:40,970
to build the launch platform.
767
00:45:40,972 --> 00:45:45,708
Once in the water,
the platform will sink,
768
00:45:45,710 --> 00:45:48,478
leaving the coracle
to float away.
769
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:51,447
Except, as things stand,
770
00:45:51,449 --> 00:45:53,983
it probably won't.
771
00:45:53,985 --> 00:45:56,919
Alessandro's version
of Babylonian bitumen
772
00:45:56,921 --> 00:45:59,422
is melting and dropping off.
773
00:46:04,061 --> 00:46:06,295
It's quite catastrophic
at this stage.
774
00:46:07,898 --> 00:46:10,099
Once we launch the boat,
the water can push
775
00:46:10,101 --> 00:46:13,269
through the gaps and holes
776
00:46:13,271 --> 00:46:16,405
and then we're going to have
a major leak.
777
00:46:20,077 --> 00:46:23,157
Just before launch, the
ark is still not waterproof.
778
00:46:28,585 --> 00:46:30,887
In 539 BCE,
779
00:46:30,889 --> 00:46:34,157
over 50 years in exile,
780
00:46:34,159 --> 00:46:38,561
the Judeans were allowed
to return home.
781
00:46:38,563 --> 00:46:41,397
They began rebuilding
the Israel of old,
782
00:46:41,399 --> 00:46:46,469
with a new temple
and a single text, the Torah.
783
00:46:46,471 --> 00:46:49,438
One of the
most remarkable things
784
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:52,608
about ancient Israelite religion
is that it survives.
785
00:46:52,610 --> 00:46:55,678
The Babylonians
conquered Jerusalem.
786
00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:58,514
But the exiles from Jerusalem
did not give up belief
787
00:46:58,516 --> 00:47:00,683
in their God.
788
00:47:00,685 --> 00:47:05,555
The Babylonian flood myth
is now retold as a moral lesson.
789
00:47:05,557 --> 00:47:09,892
In some ways,
it's a metaphor for the exile.
790
00:47:15,566 --> 00:47:18,000
The foreign
agent comes, punishes,
791
00:47:18,002 --> 00:47:21,204
as a tool of God's wrath.
792
00:47:21,206 --> 00:47:23,239
There's a cataclysm
to be survived by a select few.
793
00:47:23,241 --> 00:47:27,109
And for them, the
promise of a new beginning
794
00:47:27,111 --> 00:47:29,212
is echoed in the Noah story.
795
00:47:32,983 --> 00:47:37,253
"God blessed Noah and
his sons, saying to them,
796
00:47:37,255 --> 00:47:44,427
"'Be fruitful and increase
in number and fill the earth.
797
00:47:44,429 --> 00:47:48,531
"'I establish my covenant
with you.
798
00:47:48,533 --> 00:47:52,468
"'Never again will all life
be destroyed
799
00:47:52,470 --> 00:47:55,771
by the waters of a flood.'"
800
00:47:55,773 --> 00:47:59,508
Genesis 9: 1 and 11.
801
00:47:59,510 --> 00:48:04,981
This covenant defines
man's relationship with God
802
00:48:04,983 --> 00:48:09,752
and marks the birth of Judaism.
803
00:48:09,754 --> 00:48:13,155
The great Israeli scholar
Yehezkel Kaufmann said,
804
00:48:13,157 --> 00:48:15,958
"The exile is the watershed.
805
00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:19,662
"With the exile, the religion
of Israel comes to an end
806
00:48:19,664 --> 00:48:20,830
and Judaism begins."
807
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:26,769
This is the
moment at which the history
808
00:48:26,771 --> 00:48:29,605
of the Jewish people begins.
809
00:48:29,607 --> 00:48:33,476
Not at the beginning of time,
810
00:48:33,478 --> 00:48:35,878
but after the flood.
811
00:48:45,956 --> 00:48:49,158
In India, Irving's
theory that the legend was based
812
00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:51,560
on an authentic
boat-building tradition
813
00:48:51,562 --> 00:48:54,030
is about to be put to the test.
814
00:48:54,032 --> 00:48:59,368
The big question
is Alessandro's bitumen recipe.
815
00:48:59,370 --> 00:49:01,537
Will it work?
816
00:49:05,676 --> 00:49:09,645
For Irving, the culmination
of years of translation,
817
00:49:09,647 --> 00:49:13,916
study and investigation
is this moment.
818
00:49:13,918 --> 00:49:15,885
I can hardly believe my eyes!
819
00:49:15,887 --> 00:49:16,986
Amazing.
820
00:49:16,988 --> 00:49:18,120
After all this imagination,
821
00:49:18,122 --> 00:49:20,056
it's really here
in the flesh so to speak.
822
00:49:20,058 --> 00:49:22,091
It's incredible,
it's incredible!
823
00:49:28,131 --> 00:49:31,734
The ark is raised
on inflatable rollers.
824
00:49:31,736 --> 00:49:34,003
On its launch platform,
825
00:49:34,005 --> 00:49:37,139
it begins its journey
down to the lake.
826
00:49:52,856 --> 00:49:57,360
Alessandro is standing by to
plug any leaks from the outside.
827
00:49:57,362 --> 00:50:01,397
But before he can,
a roller slips free,
828
00:50:01,399 --> 00:50:04,533
pitching the ark in the water.
829
00:50:05,535 --> 00:50:06,869
Start pulling!
830
00:50:11,875 --> 00:50:14,744
Below decks, it's
clear their non-Babylonian
831
00:50:14,746 --> 00:50:16,412
waterproof mix isn't working.
832
00:50:20,450 --> 00:50:22,651
So we are now floating,
which is the good news.
833
00:50:22,653 --> 00:50:23,686
The potentially bad news,
however,
834
00:50:23,688 --> 00:50:25,955
is that we have a heck
of a lot of water
835
00:50:25,957 --> 00:50:27,757
coming in at the moment.
836
00:50:27,759 --> 00:50:29,825
They had hoped
to get animals on board.
837
00:50:29,827 --> 00:50:33,829
But right now they're consumed
with saving the ark.
838
00:50:37,334 --> 00:50:42,138
They plug the gaps and put
a collection of pumps to work.
839
00:50:46,076 --> 00:50:49,078
By the time Irving climbs
on board,
840
00:50:49,080 --> 00:50:53,249
the problem is under control.
841
00:50:53,251 --> 00:50:54,617
Welcome aboard.
842
00:50:54,619 --> 00:50:55,851
Thank you!
843
00:50:55,853 --> 00:50:56,986
I'm proud to be here.
844
00:50:56,988 --> 00:50:59,889
How wonderful,
how absolutely wonderful!
845
00:51:04,461 --> 00:51:05,995
The boat-building
team never managed
846
00:51:05,997 --> 00:51:07,997
to duplicate Babylonian bitumen,
847
00:51:07,999 --> 00:51:11,901
but the structure of the ark
is sound.
848
00:51:16,006 --> 00:51:19,475
At the root of the story
may have been
849
00:51:19,477 --> 00:51:22,645
a flood vessel like this one.
850
00:51:22,647 --> 00:51:25,014
Behind the legend
of a great flood
851
00:51:25,016 --> 00:51:28,551
were thousands of real floods.
852
00:51:28,553 --> 00:51:31,487
And behind the myth
of a giant ark
853
00:51:31,489 --> 00:51:35,291
is a genuine tradition
of round boat building.
854
00:51:37,627 --> 00:51:41,230
All this
from a Babylonian tablet...
855
00:51:41,232 --> 00:51:43,732
A story that emerged
4,000 years ago.
856
00:51:46,069 --> 00:51:48,537
It continues to resonate today
857
00:51:48,539 --> 00:51:51,740
as one of the world's
most enduring tales.
858
00:52:08,925 --> 00:52:13,095
Media Access Group at WGBH
access.wgbh.org ine, by
859
00:52:23,106 --> 00:52:26,041
This NOVA program is available
on DVD.
860
00:52:26,043 --> 00:52:31,046
To order, visit shopPBS.org,
or call 1-800-play-PBS.
861
00:52:31,048 --> 00:52:33,816
NOVA is also available
for download on iTunes.