1,000 year old Babylonian hymn celebrating ancient city revived using AI
Dating back to the early first millennium BCE (c. 1000 BCE), the 250-line hymn praises the ancient city of Babylon. It describes its monumental buildings, fertile fields sustained by the Euphrates River, and the role of celibate priestesses in society.
The text was pieced together from over 30 fragmented clay tablets spread across several museums and collections.
The reconstruction was made possible through a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Baghdad and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, who published their findings in the journal Iraq.
The project utilised an AI-powered platform that digitises fragments of cuneiform – the script used by ancient civilisations, including Mesopotamia and Persia – and cross-references them to identify matching passages.
'Using our AI-supported platform, we managed to identify 30 other manuscripts that belong to the rediscovered hymn – a process that would formerly have taken decades,' said study co-author and Assyriologist Enrique Jiménez.
The hymn itself is focused on Babylon's grandeur; most significantly, it celebrates the city's majestic architecture, emphasising how canals and fields thrived alongside bustling urban structures.
Notably, it highlights the cultural importance of women serving as priestesses as well as Babylon's welcoming attitude towards foreigners, offering a rare glimpse into the structure of Babylon's social and cultural society.
One striking feature is how widely the hymn was known at the time. Dozens of copies were found among what appeared to be school texts.
'The hymn was copied by children at school,' Jiménez noted, suggesting that this hymn was memorised by and taught to students.
Despite its length, some sections of the hymn remain missing or damaged, particularly towards the end. About one-third of the original text is still fragmented, indicating growing opportunities for AI-assisted reconstruction and discovery of damaged or lost ancient texts.
A passage from the larger hymn is transcribed below:
The Euphrates is her river—established by wise lord Nudimmud—
It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake,
Disgorges its waters into lagoon and sea,
Its fields burgeon with herbs and flowers,
Its meadows, in brilliant bloom, sprout barley,
From which, gathered, sheaves are stacked,
Herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures,
Wealth and splendor—what befit mankind—
Are bestowed, multiplied, and regally granted.
(This article has been curated by Arfan Jeelany, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Deccan Herald
Sivagalai: The oldest Iron Age site in the world?
Sivagalai, a relatively unknown village in Tamil Nadu, has a new claim to fame. It is potentially the oldest Iron Age site in the world. It was believed that the Iron Age began around 1200 BCE in Anatolia by the Hittites. But the iron tools found in Sivagalai date back to 2427-3345 BCE. Which makes Sivagalai, a region where the Iron Age potentially of this started when Manickam, a school teacher and resident of Sivagalai, informed the government authorities about some of his findings.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
TN Science Forum urges Centre to release Keeladi report forthwith
The Tamil Nadu Science Forum emphasised the scientifically-backed evidence of the Keeladi excavation and urged the Union government to release the report filed by archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna. They released a report on the importance of Keeladi excavation during an event conducted here on Thursday. The report stated that the findings of the archaeological department were based on scientific research involving discoveries based on contemporary scientific techniques and have been proven with evidence. As a basic principle, the findings too could be subjected to further evolution, it added. 'The ongoing archaeological study at Keeladi is being conducted with more advanced technology than even the genetic testing employed in Indus Valley (Harappa –Mohenjodaro) excavations,' it stated. The study has employed sophisticated scientific methodologies such 10x10 meter trenches for stratigraphy, meticulous collection of every stratum, soil sieving to retrieve micro-artifacts, drone surveys, carbon dating and multi-disciplinary collaborative research. P. Pavel Bharathi, Founder, Vaigai Archeological and Cultural Forum, said, thy did not accept the Government of India's assertion that Keeladi could not be dated before 300 BCE. 'We believe that human DNA studies from skeletal remains found in burial urns (a practice dated to around 850 BCE) in Konthagai will shed further light, especially since segments of the ancient African ancestral mother's maternal genetic lineage are found in the Uthiyan Cheral Irumporai community of Usilampatti (Virumandi),' he added. Virumandi, a man from Tamil Nadu, carries a significant genetic marker (M130) that links him to the earliest modern human migrations out of Africa, dating back approximately 70,000 years. This discovery, made by geneticists from Madurai Kamaraj University, suggests that South India was one of the first places where these early humans settled. The M130 marker is found in other non-Africans as well, but Virumandi's DNA provides a strong link to this ancient migration.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
1,000 year old Babylonian hymn celebrating ancient city revived using AI
A long-lost Babylonian hymn, missing for more than a millennium, has been largely reconstructed thanks to artificial intelligence. Dating back to the early first millennium BCE (c. 1000 BCE), the 250-line hymn praises the ancient city of Babylon. It describes its monumental buildings, fertile fields sustained by the Euphrates River, and the role of celibate priestesses in society. The text was pieced together from over 30 fragmented clay tablets spread across several museums and collections. The reconstruction was made possible through a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Baghdad and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, who published their findings in the journal Iraq. The project utilised an AI-powered platform that digitises fragments of cuneiform – the script used by ancient civilisations, including Mesopotamia and Persia – and cross-references them to identify matching passages. 'Using our AI-supported platform, we managed to identify 30 other manuscripts that belong to the rediscovered hymn – a process that would formerly have taken decades,' said study co-author and Assyriologist Enrique Jiménez. The hymn itself is focused on Babylon's grandeur; most significantly, it celebrates the city's majestic architecture, emphasising how canals and fields thrived alongside bustling urban structures. Notably, it highlights the cultural importance of women serving as priestesses as well as Babylon's welcoming attitude towards foreigners, offering a rare glimpse into the structure of Babylon's social and cultural society. One striking feature is how widely the hymn was known at the time. Dozens of copies were found among what appeared to be school texts. 'The hymn was copied by children at school,' Jiménez noted, suggesting that this hymn was memorised by and taught to students. Despite its length, some sections of the hymn remain missing or damaged, particularly towards the end. About one-third of the original text is still fragmented, indicating growing opportunities for AI-assisted reconstruction and discovery of damaged or lost ancient texts. A passage from the larger hymn is transcribed below: The Euphrates is her river—established by wise lord Nudimmud— It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake, Disgorges its waters into lagoon and sea, Its fields burgeon with herbs and flowers, Its meadows, in brilliant bloom, sprout barley, From which, gathered, sheaves are stacked, Herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures, Wealth and splendor—what befit mankind— Are bestowed, multiplied, and regally granted. (This article has been curated by Arfan Jeelany, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
