THE OLDEST EXISTING WORLD MAP WAS CARVED IN CLAY OVER 2,5 THOUSAND YEARS AGO
The way a society documents the world, illustrating its recognised borders and contents, reveals a great deal about science, religion, and other topics. For instance, the world is portrayed through a medieval Biblical lens in the 1300-year-old Hereford Mappa Mundi. Alternatively, a Venetian monk from the fifteenth century produced a startlingly accurate crowdsourced world map. Additionally, there exist depictions from the 12th century of Muhammad al-Idrisi, a valiant scholar and adventurer. However, the earliest known map of the world was not created in Europe or on vellum. As the modern-day Imago Mundi, also known as The Babylonian Map of the World, it was actually carved in clay and preserved 2,600 years ago.
In the 19th century, the renowned archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam unearthed a clay tablet fragment containing a map in what is now Iraq. The British Museum obtained it in 1882, and it remains in the museum's possession. The museum states that the diagrammatic map is from the late Babylonian era and is estimated to originate from around the 6th century BCE.
The inscription contains cuneiform writing and a sun-shaped illustration with enigmatic markings. Over time, a portion of the drawing has deteriorated, but scholars have managed to interpret the text and decipher the symbols on the map, which are accompanied by textual descriptions. The outermost ring (elements 14 to 17 in the diagram provided) represents brackish or saline water, denoting the sea. Babylon is denoted as element 13, located just below a towering mountain. It seems that the Euphrates River carves a path through the city, underscoring its pivotal role in the ancient civilisation of the Near East.
The inscription of 18 above the mountain is translated as "Great Wall, six leagues apart, where the Sun is not visible," potentially referring to either the sunset or a mythical land of darkness behind the mountains. Additionally, the map does not solely focus on labelling the familiar territories of the Babylonians but also acknowledges the neighbouring realms of Urartu and Assyria.
Mystical creatures are depicted as playing across this familiar world, with mentions of sea serpents, winged horses, and half-man, half-bull hybrids. The presence of panthers, deer, monkeys, and wolves is also recognised. The ancient Near East, encompassing the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, serves as the cradle of civilisation and yields valuable insights into human history, including the ancient perspectives on the world.