The Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh burned down in 612 BC, but because its 30,000 tablets were made of clay, the fire actually baked and preserved them, and we can read Mesopotamian poetry today because someone tried to destroy it

When Nineveh fell in 612 BC, the fire that destroyed King Ashurbanipal's palace baked his library of 30,000 clay tablets into ceramic, preserving the Epic of Gilgamesh and most of what we know about Mesopotamian literature. The post The Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh burned down in 612 BC, but because its 30,000 tablets were made of clay, the fire actually baked and preserved them, and we can read Mesopotamian poetry today because someone tried to destroy it appeared first on Space Daily .