In 1872, George Smith, studying texts from Ashurbanipal's library , discovered to his amazement a tablet describing a Deluge strikingly similar to Noah's Flood but occurring much earlier.
When Gilgamesh visited Dilmun (Bahrein) he met a man called Ut-Napishtim (Ziusudra in earlier versions), the immortal survivor of the Flood. Wearied by the incessant noise of humanity, the gods had decided to send a flood to destroy mankind.
But the wise god Enki, Lord of the Waters, warned Ziusudra who built an ark in which he shipped his family, retainers, treasure and animals both wild and tame. In this extract, Ziusudra describes the Flood.
