There Were Giants Upon The Earth (cont.)
By Zecharia Sitchen
Though wholly unintended, the unearthing of Eridu opened the way to archaeological confirmation of one of Sumer’s most basic ‘myths’—the coming of the Anunnaki to Earth and the establishment by them of Cities of the Gods in pre-Diluvial times.
It was in 1914 that one of the early ‘Sumerologists’, Arno Poebel, made known the astounding contents of a tablet kept in a fragments-box catalogued ‘CBS 10673’ in the collection of the Philadelphia University Museum. Less than half preserved (Fig. 41), this remainder of the original Sumerian Deluge record provides on the obverse side the bottom part of the first three columns of text; and turned over, it retains on the reverse the upper part of columns iv–vi.
The extant lines in the latter section relate how Ziusudra had been forewarned (by the god Enki) about the Deluge and the boat he was instructed to build, how the Deluge had raged for seven days and seven nights, and how the gods led by Enlil granted Ziusudra “life, like a god”—thus his name, “He of Prolonged Lifedays.”
The obverse columns I–III, however, considerably expand the tale. The text describes the circumstances of the Deluge and the events that preceded it. Indeed, the text harks back to the time when the Anunnaki had come to Earth and settled in the Edin—a tale that has led some to call this text The Eridu Genesis. It was in those early days, when the Anunnaki brought ‘Kingship’ down from Heaven, the text asserts (in column ii) that five Cities of the Gods were founded:
After the [ . . . ] of Kingship
was brought down from heaven,
After the lofty crown and throne of kingship
were lowered from heaven,
[ . . . ] perfected the [ . . . ],
[ . . . ] founded [ . . . ] cities in [ . . . ],
Gave them their names,
allocated their pure places:
The first of these cities, Eridu,
to the leader, Nudimmud, was given.
The second, Bad-Tibira, he gave to Nugig.
The third, Larak, to Pabilsag was given.
The fourth, Sippar, he gave to the hero Utu,
The fifth, Shuruppak, to Sud was given.
The disclosure that some time after they had arrived on Earth—but long before the Deluge—the Anunnaki established five settlements is a major revelation; that the cities’ names, and names of their god-rulers, are stated, is quite astounding; but what is even more amazing about this list of Cities of the Gods is that four of their sites have been found and excavated by modern archaeologists! With the exception of Larak, whose remains have not been identified though its approximate location has been ascertained, Eridu, Bad-Tibira, Sippar, and Shuruppak have been found. Thus, as Sumer, its cities, and its civilization have been brought back to light, not only the Deluge but events and places from before the Deluge emerged as historical reality.
Since the Mesopotamian texts assert that the Deluge devastated the Earth and all upon it, one may well ask how those cities were still extant after the Deluge. For the answer—provided by the same Mesopotamian texts—we have to pull away the curtains of time and obscurity and reveal the full story of the Anunnaki, “Those Who From Heaven to Earth Came.”
As before, it will be the ancient texts themselves that will tell the story.