New evidence suggests Noah’s ark may have been round

Dr Irving Finkel is one of the few scholars in the world who can read cuneiform #ArkBeforeNoah pic.twitter.com/xvtXOedSED

— British Museum (@britishmuseum) January 24, 2014

Perhaps you’re familiar with the traditional image of Noah’s vast ark: Long, hulking sides converge at a towering, pointed bow.

Well it might be wise to forget that image.

According to the Associated Press, a 4,000-year-old tablet from Mesopotamia shows the ship may have been round. The recently deciphered artifact gives instructions for a round vessel known as a “coracle” as well as the famous direction about animals entering “two by two.”

Irving Finkel, the assistant keeper of Middle East items at the British Museum, translated the instructions and wrote about the issue in his new book, “The Ark Before Noah.”

Engineers will soon follow the tablet’s instructions to see whether a coracle could have actually sailed. Meanwhile, the museum will put the artifact on display.