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The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood by Irving Finkel explores the ancient Mesopotamian origins of the biblical flood narrative. The book delves into Finkel's discovery and analysis of a 4,000-year-old clay tablet, revealing insights into the flood's story and its connections to ancient mythology and culture. Through historical context and linguistic analysis, Finkel sheds light on how the flood narrative evolved over time, offering a fresh perspective on this timeless tale.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you have an interest in ancient history, archaeology, or mythology. Delve into the intriguing analysis of ancient cuneiform tablets and uncover insights into the historical context of the flood narratives. Irving Finkel's engaging writing combines scholarly research with the excitement of discovery, making it a fascinating read for history enthusiasts.

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THE ARK BEFORE NOAH: Decoding the Story of the Flood by Dr Irving Finkel is a compelling investigation of one of the most famous myths in the world - and how the re-discovery of an ancient tablet challenges our view of ancient history in a new and exciting way.

THE ARK BEFORE NOAH: Decoding the Story of the Flood by Dr Irving Finkel is a compelling investigation of one of the most famous myths in the world - and how the re-discovery of an ancient tablet challenges our view of ancient history in a new and exciting way.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In The Ark Before Noah, British Museum expert Dr Irving Finkel reveals how decoding the symbols on a 4,000-year-old piece of clay enables a radical new interpretation of the Noah's Ark myth. A world authority on the period, Dr Finkel's enthralling real-life detective story began with a most remarkable event at the British Museumβ€”the arrival one day in 2008 of a single, modest-sized Babylonian cuneiform tabletβ€”the palm-sized clay rectangles on which our ancestors created the first documents.

It had been brought in by a member of the public, and this particular tablet proved to be of quite extraordinary importance. Not only does it date from about 1850 BC, but it is a copy of the Babylonian Story of the Flood, a myth from ancient Mesopotamia revealing, among other things, instructions for building a large boat to survive a flood.

But Dr Finkel's pioneering work didn't stop there. Through another series of enthralling discoveries, he has been able to decode the story of the Flood in ways which offer unanticipated revelations to readers of The Ark Before Noah.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Irving Finkel's The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood has been praised for its engaging and humorous approach to scholarship, making it both fresh and exciting. Reviewers appreciate Finkel's lively investigation and compelling narrative style, which successfully combines scholarly insight with an entertaining and humane storytelling approach. His work is noted for its significant impact on historical interpretation, providing new dimensions to a centuries-old tale.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781444757088

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 October 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder Paperback

Illustration: 2 x 8 page colour inset

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 31.0mm

Width: 137.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 332g

Pages: 464

About the Author

Dr Irving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian (i.e. Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian) script, languages and cultures Department: Middle East at the British Museum, headquartered in London's Bloomsbury. He is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection - some 130,000 pieces - of any modern museum. This work involves reading and translating all sorts of inscriptions, sometimes working on ancient archives to identify manuscripts that belong together, or even join to one another.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/departments/staff/middle_east/irving_finkel.aspx

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