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In 1976, a scholar named J.J. van Dijk published a copy of an Akkadian inscription, engraved on a tablet that dates back more than 3,500 years. The tablet, at the time, was in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.
Since that time, Iraq has been through three wars and the Iraq Museum has been looted. The tablet's present-day whereabouts are unknown, and it could still be in the museum.
Thankfully scholars still have van Dijk's copy, and two researchers, Nathan Wasserman and Michael Streck, recently published a full translation of the tablet in the journal Iraq. In this photo gallery, LiveScience takes a look at three of these riddles, one line at a time. Note that some of the translations are tentative.
Owen Jarus is a regular contributor to Live Science who writes about archaeology and humans' past. He has also written for The Independent (UK), The Canadian Press (CP) and The Associated Press (AP), among others. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University.
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