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‘It Signifies Pestilence’: Scholars Decipher 4,000-Year-Old Tablets
Daily Caller ^ | August 6, 2024 | Mariane Angela - Entertainment And News Reporter

Posted on 08/07/2024 8:27:22 AM PDT by Red Badger

Scholars made significant advancements in understanding ancient Mesopotamian culture through the translation of 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets that interpret lunar eclipses as ominous signs, Live Science reported Tuesday.

These tablets, which were discovered over a century ago and are now part of the British Museum’s collection, detail predictions of death, destruction and disease linked to specific celestial events, according to Live Science. The research, conducted by Andrew George, an emeritus professor of Babylonian at the University of London, and Junko Taniguchi, an independent researcher, was published in the Journal of Cuneiform Studies.

'A king will die': 4,000-year-old lunar eclipse omen tablets finally deciphered

The tablets are believed to originate from Sippar, a prominent city in what is now Iraq, during the era of the Babylonian Empire. This discovery provides the oldest examples of lunar eclipse omens found to date, the outlet reported. The tablets describe how ancient astrologers would use the time of night, the movement of shadows and the details of an eclipse’s occurrence to predict catastrophic events.

For instance, one tablet interprets a sudden obscuring and clearing of an eclipse as a sign of a king’s death and the destruction of Elam, an ancient civilization in present-day Iran, Live Science stated. Other ominous predictions included the downfall of regions such as Subartu and Akkad, depending on the characteristics of the eclipse. “An eclipse in the evening watch: it signifies pestilence,” one omen reads.

While some of these omens may have been based on actual historical observations — events followed by disasters — most were likely derived from a theoretical system that associated specific eclipse features with particular outcomes, according to Live Science.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; History; Society; Weather
KEYWORDS: akkad; andrewgeorge; astrology; babylonian; cuneiform; elam; epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; junkotaniguchi; lunareclipses; marianeangela; mesopotamia; sippar; subartu; superstition

1 posted on 08/07/2024 8:27:22 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: SunkenCiv

PinGGG!.....................


2 posted on 08/07/2024 8:27:47 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Kamala signifies pestilence.


3 posted on 08/07/2024 8:29:12 AM PDT by one guy in new jersey
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To: one guy in new jersey

The whole Demoncrat/Communist party is a pestilence


4 posted on 08/07/2024 8:30:05 AM PDT by jpp113
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To: Red Badger

BTTT


5 posted on 08/07/2024 8:30:24 AM PDT by nopardons
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To: one guy in new jersey

Kamala IS pestilence.....................


6 posted on 08/07/2024 8:32:28 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

In the past, an eclipse was a reason to fabricate a story

Today, an eclipse is a reason to blame climate change.


7 posted on 08/07/2024 8:34:21 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (This is the end of the Republic....because we could not keep it.)
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To: Red Badger

Andrew George is a very knowledgeable person about Mesopotamia.

I;d only add that there must be an eclipse somewhere in our solar system today ...given the amount of sheer evil we’re experiencing and witnessing in the world today


8 posted on 08/07/2024 8:41:54 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: faithhopecharity

Eclipses are completely predictable using the observations and math.

The ancient astrologers knew this, but the populace and even the kings did not.

That way, the astrologers could ‘predict’ eclipses and look like prophets. And make money at the same time...................


9 posted on 08/07/2024 8:50:55 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks Red Badger.

10 posted on 08/07/2024 8:53:32 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Red Badger

“A king will die.” It would be a lot more impressive if they said King Whosits will die on fourth day of Whatsis. How many kings were there at the time and how likely would it be that one would die? Battle, disease, accident, food poisoning, pissed off wife, concubine, or soldier, many ways for kings to die.


11 posted on 08/07/2024 8:54:19 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: Red Badger

yes indeed, it was a great gig while it lasted...


12 posted on 08/07/2024 9:02:40 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: Red Badger
"So even if the omens were bad, people still believed that the forecasted future could be avoided."

Remember this when polls show Harris and Walz up by 5!

13 posted on 08/07/2024 9:04:06 AM PDT by edwinland
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To: Red Badger
Kamala IS pestilence.....................

That's rather harsh, she isn't a literal pestilence, but she really does suck...

14 posted on 08/07/2024 10:38:31 AM PDT by null and void (I identify as a conspiracy theorist. My personal pronouns are told/you/so.)
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