NP? literary roots: Gilgamesh tomb believed found

[pynchonoid]

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

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. 

[...] 

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. 
 
Iraq has long been the site of some of the most
important historical finds

"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." 


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