Noah's Ark May Have Been Round...

They may have come 2-by-2, but apparently they weren't loaded onto the sort of craft most of us envision as an 'ark'. At least not according to a 3700 year-old Babylonian tablet. In an intriguing version of the classic tale of a worthy man being chosen by God to survive the big flood, the Guardian.UK reports:

In his translation [they are talking about Irving Finkel, British Museum], the god who has decided to spare one just man speaks to Atram-Hasis, a Sumerian king who lived before the flood and who is the Noah figure in earlier versions of the ark story. "Wall, wall! Reed wall, reed wall! Atram-Hasis, pay heed to my advice, that you may live forever! Destroy your house, build a boat; despise possessions And save life! Draw out the boat that you will built with a circular design; Let its length and breadth be the same."

The tablet goes on to command the use of plaited palm fibre, waterproofed with bitumen, before the construction of cabins for the people and wild animals.

It ends with the dramatic command of Atram-Hasis to the unfortunate boat builder whom he leaves behind to meet his fate, about sealing up the door once everyone else is safely inside: "When I shall have gone into the boat, Caulk the frame of the door!"