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A sensational find was made in the Hill of Kuyundjik around the turn of the century. It was a heroic epic of great expressive power engraved on twelve clay tablets and it belonged to the library of the Assyrian King Assurbanipal. The epic was written in Akkadian; later a second copy was found that goes back to King Hammurabi. It is an established fact that the original version of the Epic of Gilgamesh stems from the Sumerians, that mysterious people, whose origin we do not know, but who left behind the astonishing fifteen-digit number and a very advanced astronomy. It is also clear that the main thread of the Epic of Gilgamesh runs parallel to the biblical Book of Genesis. The first clay tablet of the Kuyundjik finds relates that the victorious hero Gilgamesh built the wall around Uruk. We read that the 'god of heaven' lived in a stately home, which contained granaries, and that guards stood on the town walls. We learn that Gilgamesh was a mixture of 'god' and man—two- thirds 'god', one-third man. Pilgrims who came to Uruk gazed up at him in fear and trembling because they had never seen his like for beauty and strength. In other words, the beginning of the narrative contains the idea of inter-breeding between 'god' and man yet again. The second tablet tells us that another figure, Enkidu, was created by the goddess of heaven, Aruru. Enkidu is described in great detail. His whole body is covered with hair, he wears skins, eats grass in the fields and drinks at the same watering-place as the cattle. He also disports himself in the tumbling waters. When Gilgamesh, the king of the town of Uruk, hears about this unattractive creature, he suggests that he should be given a lovely woman so that he will become estranged from the cattle. Enkidu, innocent fellow, is taken in by the king's trick and spends six days and six nights with a semi-divine beauty. This little bit of royal pandering leads us to think that the idea of cross-breeding between a demi-god and a half-animal was not taken quite as a matter of course in this barbaric world. heavens roared, the earth quaked and finally the ‘Sun God' came and seized Enkidu with mighty wings and claws. We read in astonishment that he lay like lead on Enkidu's body and that the weight of his body seemed to him like the weight of a boulder. Even if we grant the old story-tellers a fertile imagination and discount the additions made by translators and copyists, the incredible thing about the account still remains: how on earth could the old chroniclers have known that the weight of the body becomes as heavy as lead at a certain acceleration? Nowadays we know all about the forces of gravity and acceleration. When an astronaut is pressed back into his seat by a force of several G's at take-off, it has all been calculated in advance. The fifth tablet narrates how Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out to visit the abode of the 'gods' together. The tower in which the goddess Irninis lived could be seen gleaming in the distance long before they Chapter Five - Fiery Chariots From The Heavens And the third tablet goes on to tell us about a cloud of dust which came from the distance. The But how on earth did this idea occur to the old chroniclers?