Imagine a discovery that bridges the gap between ancient legend and modern archaeology.

Imagine a discovery that bridges the gap between ancient legend and modern archaeology.

Deep within the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, researchers have uncovered a 6,500-year-old human skeleton, affectionately named "Noah." This remarkable find, encased in wax and stored in a wooden box for 85 years, offers a tangible connection to the distant past.

The skeleton was originally unearthed between 1929 and 1930 by the esteemed archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley during his excavations at the ancient city of Ur, located in present-day Iraq. Woolley's team is renowned for uncovering the Mesopotamian "royal cemetery," which contained hundreds of graves and 16 opulently decorated tombs. However, their work also revealed burial sites predating these royal interments by approximately 2,000 years. Among these earlier graves, they discovered 48 from the Ubaid period (circa 5500 B.C. to 4000 B.C.), located nearly 50 feet below the surface. Recognizing the significance of these ancient remains, Woolley meticulously retrieved one skeleton, coating the bones and surrounding earth in wax to preserve them during transport to London and eventually to Philadelphia.

The rediscovery of "Noah" occurred serendipitously during a project to digitize the museum's records. William Hafford, the project manager, noticed a discrepancy: one of the two skeletons listed as arriving from the Ur excavation was unaccounted for. After thorough research, he and Janet Monge, the museum's curator of physical anthropology, located the wooden box in the basement. Opening it revealed the well-preserved remains of a male, estimated to be 50 years or older at the time of death, standing between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall. Given the context of the find, the team affectionately dubbed the skeleton "Noah," symbolizing survival after a great flood.

This discovery is particularly significant because complete skeletons from the Ubaid period are exceedingly rare. The Penn Museum's researchers now aim to employ modern scientific techniques, such as DNA analysis and CT scanning, to glean insights into the individual's diet, ancestral origins, health, and the broader context of the era. This endeavor not only illuminates the life of a single individual but also enhances our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian civilization and its post-flood recovery narratives.