New Evidence Suggests Tower of Babel May Have Been Real

According to various news sources, an ancient babylonian tablet dating back to 600 BC, provides compelling evidence that the biblical Tower of Babel may indeed have existed. The tablet, which had been discovered a century ago but was never thouroughly examined, actually "depicts" the tower and includes details about its construction. Here's a digital representation of what the tower might have looked like (with a profile that's more or less in line with the one shown on the tablet):


Scripture and depiction on babylonian tablet:


The inscriptions were initially difficult to decipher, but after restoration the tablet has extensively been analyzed by Dr Andrew George, professor at the University of London (Department of the Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East). According to the sources mentioned in this thread, the results seem to substantiate the notion that the tower was a real building, and not just a fictional bible story meant to be an allegory (eg. etiological origin myth).

Did the biblical Tower of Babel really exist?

"This tablet provides the first-ever image of the real Tower of Babel. It confirms the building was a Mesopotamian stepped tower and illustrates the seven tiers of the ancient megastructure. Significantly, it also clearly identifies the man behind it: Mesopotamia's most famous ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar II." (Quote Dr Andrew George)

Relevant bible passage: Genesis, Chapter 11


The announcement also comes with a YouTube clip which is a teaser for an upcoming documentary on the Smithonian Channel.

Looking at the depiction and assuming a height of 7-8m per course, I would estimate the overall height to be 80m - 90m. This would make it one of the few skyscrapers of antiquity (along with the Giza pyramids and the Lighthouse of Alexandria). The new find also seems to confirm that the tower was in fact the ziggurat Etemenanki ("temple of the foundation of heaven and earth").

I have to add that this specific era and period in history is clearly not my area of expertise, so I'll leave it up to those who are more familiar with Babylonian/Assyrian/Mesopotamian cultures to comment on the relevance of this story.

And finally: I guess it would be interesting to speculate which other biblical references may be based on true stories provided that the "Tower of Babel" evidence turns out to be genuine.




SOURCES & LINKS:
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01. Source Article: Ancient Origins
02. Tower of Babel article: CBN News
03. Related article via Unexplained Mysteries
03. Tower of Babel: Background & History
04. Related YouTube clip (Smithonian Channel)
05. Bible passage: Genesis, Chapter 11
06. Bio of Dr Andrew George, London University

originally posted by: jeep3r
According to various news sources, an ancient babylonian tablet dating back to 600 BC, provides compelling evidence that the biblical Tower of Babel may indeed have existed. The tablet, which had been discovered a century ago but was never thouroughly examined, actually "depicts" the tower and includes details about its construction. Here's a digital representation of what the tower might have looked like (with a profile that's more or

Here's your clip. I'll take it that the expression, 'reaches to the heavens' in this context was more intended as figurative one, meaning just tallest, which makes sense when you consider that even today for some it's about building the tallest.

a reply to: smurfy

Thanks for embedding it, much appreciated!

Incredible discovery!

Its amazing to see what we were capable of thousands of years ago with nothing but rocks and simple metal tools.

Its also scary to see how quickly knowledge and techniques can be lost. We are our own enemy.

Any proof that God and/ or something demolished it ?

Kwin -thai hijimoda

We already knew the Mesopotamians built Ziggurats, so I don't see how this is evidence of the tower of Babel.

a reply to: jeep3r
If the tower of babel exists in real life, that means we have discovered a real life stargate.

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance
We already knew the Mesopotamians built Ziggurats, so I don't see how this is evidence of the tower of Babel.

Well, the expert says the text reads Babylon, so it is a tower in Babylon, he also mentions the dynamics of the amount of people involved...so it wasn't a public toilet that they were building. To add, it was also already known that the towers were a central building, and that cities were built around them. Now if this one was 91 metres, then you are talking just short of 300 feet tall, while not as tall as the Giza true Pyramid, would have been a more functional erection bottom to top.

There are actually already a few other records other than the bible that talk about the tower of babble. The only thing is that they do not know exactly where it was, there were some ruins that they felt might have been the tower.

It is pretty well accepted that it was real, the bible was not the only source of information on it from what I read and saw on documentaries.

a reply to: jeep3r

"This tablet provides the first-ever image of the real Tower of Babel. It confirms the building was a Mesopotamian stepped tower and illustrates the seven tiers of the ancient megastructure. Significantly, it also clearly identifies the man behind it: Mesopotamia's most famous ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar II."

Well, the whole stepped tower thing is NOT mentioned in the Bible and neither is Nebuchadnezzar II (in this relation anyway), so the tablet only proves that a tower was built. And obviously towers were built.

I feel he is misrepresenting the Bible here. That is sort of uncool to do.

The thing about the Tower of Babel being stepped is simply from later artistic renderings of what it might have looked. The Bible says nothing about that. Here, have a look for yourselves:

Genesis 11:1-9 - The Tower of Babel

a reply to: jeep3r

Quite a few towers of Babel existed, and Nimrod would have been behind the first tower not Nebuchadnezzar, the good folk who had uncovered the find were doing so with turn of the century lens, with a nod to the Bible.

But nice find though, as I had never seen an ancient drawing of a ziggurat..

a reply to: jeep3r

Very cool, We just recently had a thread about Babylon in Old Testament prophecy
If anyone cares to get a biblical perspective on the Tower and its implications.

Thanks for posting. I'm very interested. Looking forward to watching these videos.

a reply to: jeep3r

This is a depiction of a tower and it was in Babylon but Nebuchadnezzar II (actually Nebuchadrezzar II) died in 562 BC, thousands of years after the Biblical Tower of Babel.

The Bible identifies that the Tower of Babel was constructed under Nimrod's reign. Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah, and was only 13 generations from the first man, Adam.

The tower of Babel was never finished. God confused the languages and dispersed the builders to prevent the tower's construction.

And, should you think I am being overly gullible in supporting the Biblical narrative, there is a Sumerian story, 'Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta', dating from 2,100 BC which outlines the confusion of the languages of men, (just like the Biblical story) but it speaks of two temples as being central.

So, there is a story written about earlier events, written over 1500 years before this tower, described in the OP, was built, and that supports the Biblical account.

No way could this tower be 'the' Tower of Babel.

originally posted by: Spider879
a reply to: jeep3r

Quite a few towers of Babel existed, and Nimrod would have been behind the first tower not Nebuchadnezzar, the good folk who had uncovered the find were doing so with turn of the century lens, with a nod to the Bible.

But nice find though, as I had never seen an ancient drawing of a ziggurat..

Your last sentence says it though..ziggurat, stepped pyramid, which is the most likely design for anything that would exist in Babylon, while many of the hundreds of years old depictions Bible related are nothing like, mostly because the bible doesn't really have a description.

Artists impression 1679, not a Ziggurat, but does include some functions that could have been there. If anything, this latest idea as given in the OP is more realistic.


files.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: chr0naut

13 generations of incest built the first skyscraper? gross.

originally posted by: DupontDeux
a reply to: jeep3r

"This tablet provides the first-ever image of the real Tower of Babel. It confirms the building was a Mesopotamian stepped tower and illustrates the seven tiers of the ancient megastructure. Significantly, it also clearly identifies the man behind it: Mesopotamia's most famous ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar II."

Well, the whole stepped tower thing is NOT mentioned in the Bible and neither is Nebuchadnezzar II (in this relation anyway), so the tablet only proves that a tower was built. And obviously towers were built.

I feel he is misrepresenting the Bible here. That is sort of uncool to do.

The thing about the Tower of Babel being stepped is simply from later artistic renderings of what it might have looked. The Bible says nothing about that. Here, have a look for yourselves:

Genesis 11:1-9 - The Tower of Babel

I am in total agreement, but feel that it should be noted that Nebuchadnezzar I (no relation) was extensively mentioned in the Bible.

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: chr0naut

13 generations of incest built the first skyscraper? gross.

Apparently that's where we all hale from, too. That and a faeces slinging ape.

It's a cool finding for sure...

But the only people surprised are people that believe the Bible is pure myth. Archaeological and other historic confirmations are common.

It's the real deal.

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: chr0naut

13 generations of incest built the first skyscraper? gross.

Apparently that's where we all hale from, too. That and a faeces slinging ape.

Some of us are still feces slinging apes. Thanks for the breakdown though.

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: chr0naut

13 generations of incest built the first skyscraper? gross.

Apparently that's where we all hale from, too. That and a faeces slinging ape.

Some of us are still feces slinging apes. Thanks for the breakdown though.

Some seem to forget that evolution implies some upsetting ideas like; that we are all extremely inbred and that survival of the fittest only works if the unfit die (do not survive)