The epic of Gilgamesh was told and retold in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years. It was lost for two millennia before being rediscovered in 1849 CE. It was part of the Mesopotamian literary canon, and we have been able to piece the story together because tablets have been discovered at a variety of sites, with new tablets filling in missing sections of the story. New portions of the story are still being discovered in archaeological excavations. The story sheds light on the development of Mesopotamian literature, the earliest literary tradition yet known.

Gilgamesh was originally written as a Sumerian tale, before being reinterpreted in the Akkadian language around 1800 BCE, with the most well-known version composed in the first millennium BCE. You can hear Gilgamesh read aloud in the Akkadian language here.

For more about Gilgamesh:

Sophus Helle translates the latest version of Gilgamesh, including newly-discovered clay tablets. His translation will be available through Yale University Press in October 2021: https://sophushelle.com/gilgamesh/

For more about Ancient Near Eastern literature, read:

Benjamin Foster, Before the Muses: https://www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-883053-76-5.html

For more about Ancient Near Eastern history:Gwendolyn Leick, Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City

The original 3D Model of Uruk was visualized by Sebastian Hageneuer and http://www.artefacts-berlin.de

Learn more about how archeologists reconstructed the ancient city

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