If you think putting a broken vase back together is difficult, try to imagine reconstructing a 3000-year-old epic from tiny fragments of clay. This is the Herculean task that scholars of the Epic of Gilgamesh have faced for generations. But now they have a new, powerful ally: artificial intelligence.
The Fragmentarium project: AI at the service of archaeology
A team led by professor Enrique Jimenez of the University Ludwig Maximilian of Munich has developed an innovative project called Fragmentary (here is the research). This artificial intelligence system is revolutionizing the field ofAssyriology, the discipline that studies ancient Mesopotamian civilizations and their texts cuneiform.
Fragmentarium uses machine learning to analyze and match digitized tablet fragments at a speed significantly faster than that of a human Assyriologist. This approach is reminiscent of the recent success of AI in the reconstruction of the Herculaneum papyri, carbonized by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, demonstrating the potential of technology in the recovery of ancient texts.
Surprising results in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Since 2018, Jiménez's team successfully matched over 1.500 tablet fragments, of which 20 belong to the Gilgamesh epic. These new discoveries add detail to more than 100 lines of the epic, offering “intriguing insights into the story,” as Jiménez himself puts it.
Among the new revelations:
- A journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu to Nippur after killing the monster Humbaba.
- Details of Enkidu's efforts to convince Gilgamesh not to kill Humbaba.
- A prayer from Gilgamesh's mother to the sun god regarding Enkidu.
- New details on the account of the flood of Utnapishtim.
The impact on the understanding of the epic
Professor Benjamin R. Foster from Yale, which collaborated with the AI team on some English translations, highlights the importance of these findings. For example, a single word added to Utnapishtim's account of the flood sheds new light on his psychology:
“We didn't have the word 'prodigal' before,” Foster said. “And in my opinion, he feels guilty because he knows that all the people who are helping him build the ark will be drowned in a few days.”
The future of research on the Epic of Gilgamesh
Assyriologists agree that many other fragments of the Epic of Gilgamesh and other works of Mesopotamian literature remain to be discovered. With approximately half a million clay tablets preserved in the Mesopotamian collections of various museums and universities around the world, the potential for future discoveries is immense.
Jiménez and his team are now collaborating with colleagues at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, hoping to find more pieces of the epic. Meanwhile, the new findings are already giving scholars plenty to think about.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Living Text
Sophus Helle, author of a recent translation of the epic, underlines how the text continues to reveal itself:
“It's so old and yet so alive, and it kept changing as I was working on it,” he said. “I liken it to painting a model that doesn't stand still.”
This dynamic nature of the Epic of Gilgamesh, now amplified by the power of AI, promises to keep interest and research in this ancient text alive for generations to come.
The use of artificial intelligence in the reconstruction of the Gilgamesh epic represents a fascinating encounter between the ancient and the modern. Just as the papyri of Herculaneum were brought to life thanks to AI, so the Epic of Gilgamesh is revealing his secrets through the most advanced technology.
In summary? An epic within an epic.
