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Irving Finkel | The Ark Before Noah: A Great Adventure

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures · lecture · Watch on YouTube

World historyReligion, belief & skepticismLanguage & linguistics

What it is

Irving Finkel of the British Museum tells how a 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablet came to him for examination. It revealed the oldest known account of Noah's Ark and led to a book and a documentary.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it as a funny, fascinating talk on cuneiform tablets and the ancient world by an engaging curator.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “equal parts fascinating and hilarious”

    Finkel on discovering the Babylonian Noah's Ark tablet

    cjs_ac, 2023-08 · Strong recommendation · in “7th century BCE Library of Ashurbanipal is the oldest recovered library”

  2. “Excellent lecture”

    Lecture on the cuneiform Noah's flood tablet and ark-building

    AndrewOMartin, 2025-10 · Strong recommendation · in “How to write in Cuneiform”

  3. “Irving Finkel, a British Museum curator, is a treasure.”

    Hilarious talk on Noah's Ark by a British Museum curator

    Jun8, 2025-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Why I'm Learning Sumerian”

  4. “Great talk for those interested in clay tablets and technology”

    Talk on clay tablets and ancient technology

    lalos, 2021-08 · Recommendation · in “Australian mathematician discovers applied geometry on 3,700-year-old tablet”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: cuneiform, noah's ark, british museum, clay tablets, babylon

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