The Ancient Mystery Unveiled

In the basement of the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, a captivating discovery was made – a human skeleton, estimated to be 6,500 years old, known as “Noah,” had remained undisturbed in a wooden box for 85 years. This extraordinary find was originally excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley during his digs at the site of Ur in modern-day Iraq between 1929 and 1930, and it had been thought to be lost until recently.

The Excavation of a Bygone Era

Woolley’s excavation at Ur is famous for revealing the renowned Mesopotamian “royal cemetery,” which contained hundreds of graves and 16 tombs filled with cultural artifacts. However, the archaeologist and his team also discovered graves that were around 2,000 years older than the royal burial grounds.

A Remnant of the Ubaid Period

Buried nearly 50 feet (15 meters) below the surface of Ur, the team found 48 graves dating back to the Ubaid period, which spanned approximately from 5500 B.C. to 4000 B.C. Understanding the significance of such remains from this era, Woolley decided to recover one skeleton, encasing the bones and surrounding soil in wax, boxing them up, and shipping them to London before eventually sending them to Philadelphia.

The Rediscovery and Its Importance

When William Hafford, the project manager tasked with digitizing the museum’s records, found a list that mentioned two skeletons intended for the Penn Museum, he was puzzled as only one had been documented. After thorough research, he consulted Janet Monge, the museum’s curator of physical anthropology, who remembered a mysterious box in the basement. Upon opening it, they discovered the long-lost skeleton, now referred to as “Noah.”

Using modern scientific methods, researchers at the Penn Museum aim to uncover the mysteries surrounding this ancient individual, providing insights into diet, ancestral origins, trauma, stress, and diseases from a time when a significant flood is believed to have occurred at the site of Ur.