Researchers have finally deciphered a set of 4,000-year-old Babylonian tablets, uncovering a series of ominous predictions based on lunar eclipses, a new study has revealed. The four clay tablets, inscribed with cuneiform script, were discovered over a century ago in present-day Iraq and are part of the British Museum's collection. The report, published in the , reveals a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of ancient Mesopotamians, who saw the movements of the moon as a harbinger of doom and destruction.
One of the tablets, decrypted by Researchers Andrew George and Junko Taniguchi, warns that if an eclipse becomes obscured from its centre all at once and then clears all at once, "a king will die" and Elam, a region in ancient Mesopotamia now part of Iran, will be destroyed.
Another tablet predicts the "downfall of Subartu and Akkad," two other regions of the time, if "an eclipse begins in the south and then clears." Other ominous predictions include an attack on the land by a locust swarm, losses of cattle and the fall of a "large army".
According to Andrew George, an emeritus professor of Babylonian at the University of London, some of the omens may have been based on previously observed coincidences between the timing of eclipses and major events. "The origins of some of the omens may have lain in actual experience - observation of portent followed by catastrophe," he told Live Science. However, most omens were likely based on theories rather than real evidence, the author wrote in the report.
The tablets likely originated from Sippar, an ancient Babylonian city southwest of modern-day Baghdad. They were used by advisers to the king to predict the future. These advisers would observe the night sky and match their observations with the academic corpus of celestial-omen texts. To get a second opinion on the likelihood of the omens becoming reality, the advisers would study the entrails of sacrificed animals "to determine whether the king was in real danger." They would also perform rituals to ward off the bad omen and prevent the predictions from happening, according to Mr George and Mr Taniguchi.
Babylonians would also sometimes appoint a substitute king, known as a "mock king," to bear the brunt of the impending disaster, allowing the real king to remain safe, according to NASA.
These findings come after two ancient structures in North America collapsed within just nine days of each other, leaving many to wonder if supernatural forces are at play. The sudden collapse of the pyramid at the Ihuatzio Archaeological Zone in Mexico and the Double Arch in Utah has concerned members of the Purepecha tribe, who believe that these events are ominous signs of an impending catastrophe.
