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lost babylonian hymn rediscovered using AI

AI and Archaeology Reunite to Rediscover Lost Babylonian Hymn After 1,000 Years

The cuneiform tablet bearing the recently unearthed hymn. Credit: Anmar A. Fadhil, Department of Archaeology, University of Baghdad, by courtesy of the Iraqi Museum and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

Discovery of a Forgotten Babylonian Text

During a collaborative project with the University of Baghdad, LMU's Enrique Jiménez uncovered a text thought lost for a millennium. The findings appear in the journal Iraq.

"This remarkable hymn paints Babylon in majestic detail while shedding light on the everyday lives of its people, both male and female," says Jiménez.

Historical and Cultural Significance of Babylon

Babylon was established in Mesopotamia circa 2000 BCE. Once the world's most populous city, it flourished as a cultural hub producing literary works now integral to global heritage.

The Sippar Library and Cuneiform Preservation

Babylonian texts, inscribed in cuneiform on clay tablets, have largely come down to us in fragmentary form. A key aim of the University of Baghdad collaboration is to decipher and safeguard hundreds of tablets from the renowned Sippar Library—rumoured in legend to have been hidden by Noah before the flood.

AI-Powered Restoration of the Hymn

Enrique Jiménez is working via the Electronic Babylonian Library Platform to digitize the world's known cuneiform fragments and harness AI to identify matching texts.

"Through our AI-assisted platform, we succeeded in identifying 30 further manuscripts belonging to the rediscovered hymn—a task that might once have required decades," remarked Jiménez. Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Literatures at LMU's Institute of Assyriology. With these sources, the team was able to reconstruct the fully hymn, previously incomplete.

Hymn Sheds Fresh Light on Babylonian Urban Life

Widespread Use and Educational Role

The abundance of surviving copies indicates that the text enjoyed wide circulation in its day.

"The hymn was evidently used in school settings, copied by children. It is quite remarkable that such a widely circulated text had eluded modern scholarship," remarks Jiménez.

Poetic Description of Babylon and the Euphrates

the paean is thought to date from the early first millennium BC and extends to some 250 lines in length.

"It was composed by a Babylonian intent on extolling his city. He details not only its architecture but also the life-giving role of the Euphrates, which ushers in spring and revitalizes the fields. This is particularly striking, given the general scarcity of nature depictions in Mesopotamian texts," notes Jiménez.

Surprising Insights into Babylonian Women

Details concerning the women of Babylon—their duties as priestesses and related responsibilities—have greatly surprised scholars, as no such accounts were previously recorded. The hymns also illuminate aspects of city life, portraying the populace as courteous towards outsiders.

Location and Legacy of Ancient Babylon

The ancient ruins of Babylon lie approximately 85 kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq's capital, and are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Passage from the Recently Unearthed Hymn

Excerpt Praising the River Euphrates

The excerpt below is taken from the newly unearthed hymn. It portrays the river Euphrates, alongside which Babylon once stood:

The Euphrates is her scared stream—set in place by the sagacious lord Nudimmud—

It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake,

It pours forth its waters into both lagoon and sea,

its meadows flourish with fragrant herbs and blooming flowers,

Its blooming meadows yield fair shoots of barley,

From thence the harvest is gathered and sheaves are neatly stacked,

Herds and flocks rest upon the green and grassy meads,

Riches and glory—worthy of humankind—

Bestowed in plenty, multiplied and conferred with royal grace.


Source


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