Irving Leonard Finkel, a distinguished English philologist and Assyriologist, came into this world in the year 1951.
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Michael Finkel was born in the year 1951, amidst a family of five siblings, to a father who was a dentist and a mother who was a teacher. The young Finkel grew up in the affluent neighborhood of Palmers Green, North London, surrounded by the cultural and historical richness of the city.
As he navigated his early years, Finkel was raised within the Orthodox Jewish community, with its strict adherence to religious customs and traditions. However, as he entered his teenage years, he began to question the teachings of his faith and eventually lost his religious beliefs, embracing a life of atheism.
Finkel's academic pursuits led him to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Assyriology from the prestigious University of Birmingham. Under the guidance of the renowned scholar Wilfred G. Lambert, Finkel delved deep into the ancient world of Mesopotamia, specifically focusing his dissertation on Babylonian exorcistic spells aimed at banishing demons from the lives of the ancient Babylonians.
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Finkel, a renowned scholar, devoted a significant period of three years to his tenure as a Research Fellow at the esteemed University of Chicago Oriental Institute, where he immersed himself in the pursuit of knowledge and discovery.
Upon completing his stint at the Oriental Institute, Finkel made the decision to return to his native UK in the year 1976. Upon his return, he was appointed to the esteemed position of Assistant Keeper within the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum, a renowned institution dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge regarding the ancient civilizations of the region.
As Assistant Keeper, Finkel was entrusted with the critical responsibility of curating, reading, and translating the vast collection of cuneiform tablets housed within the British Museum, a task that would occupy a significant portion of his professional life. This remarkable collection, comprising an impressive total of around 130,000 tablets, is a testament to the museum's dedication to the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the ancient Near East.
Throughout his tenure at the British Museum, Finkel has remained steadfast in his commitment to his duties, meticulously overseeing the collection and ensuring that it continues to serve as a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike.
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In the year 2014, a groundbreaking study conducted by Finkel shed new light on an ancient cuneiform tablet, which caught the attention of the global news media. The tablet, dating back to an unknown era, contained a fascinating flood narrative that bore striking similarities to the biblical account of Noah's Ark. This remarkable discovery was meticulously documented in Finkel's book, "The Ark Before Noah".
The tablet provided a wealth of information about the ark's design and construction, revealing a circular vessel, roughly the size of a very large coracle or kuphar, composed of rope on a wooden frame. The tablet's detailed descriptions of the ark's dimensions and construction allowed for the creation of a scaled replica, approximately one-third the size of the original, as showcased in a 2014 documentary titled "Secrets of Noah's Ark", which aired as an episode of the esteemed PBS series, NOVA.
The reconstructed ark, though partially successful, faced significant challenges due to the use of bitumen as a sealant, which proved to be prone to leaks. To mitigate this issue, a gasoline-powered pump was constantly used to pump out water, highlighting the complexity and intricacies of the ancient vessel's construction.
