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Scientists find 2600-year-old religious text in Sumer, which is the oldest written language

Maria Tsikhotska

Scientists find 2600-year-old religious text in Sumer, which is the oldest written language
Kesh Temple Hymn. Source: Grunge

Not all religious or spiritual communities left written sacred texts. Thus, it is difficult to identify the world's first religion. Historians and archaeologists have collected a significant number of ancient manuscripts that provide insight into how ancient people honored their faith. One of these texts, known as the Kesh Temple Hymn, was written around 2600 BC and found in the Sumerian city of Tell Abu Salabih.

Grunge writes about it.

It was written on clay tablets using cuneiform, a system of writing that uses different symbols. The text consisted of 134 lines, divided into eight sections, which described the city of Kesh as a holy place alongside Ekur, the gathering place of the Sumerian gods according to mythology.

Read also: Three sunken ships found in the Mediterranean, one of which is more than 2 thousand years old (photo)

The Sumerians were polytheistic, believing that the world was once an ocean known as Nammu. The gods An and Ki were born from Nammu, the god of heaven and the god of earth, respectively. These divine beings continued to reproduce and gave rise to other gods, such as Enlil, the main god of the Sumerian pantheon, who had power over the elements.

The Sumerians believed that the gods had to be kept in a good mood because they could put curses on people and punish them with various natural disasters. Therefore, priests were highly respected by this people, because the Sumerians believed that they could communicate with the gods.

As a reminder, an ancient pebble mosaic dating back to the 4th century BC was discovered in Turkey.

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