19 March 2026 The Future is the Product of the Past

The world’s earliest drawing of a ghost discovered in the British Museum vault

The world’s earliest drawing of a ghost has been unearthed in the gloomy vaults of the British Museum.

The British Museum has unearthed the world’s earliest drawing of a ghost, according to The Guardian on Saturday. The drawing has been identified on an ancient Babylonian clay tablet that was constructed approximately 3,500 years ago.

The drawing presents a male ghost with his hands tied by a rope and is being led by a woman pulling the rope. A lonely bearded spirit being led into the afterlife and eternal bliss by a lover.

According to the report, half of the tablet is missing, and the remaining half is small enough to fit in a human palm. On the other side of the tablet, contains instructions of what to do should a ghost continue to pursue any individual, which requires making figurines of a man and woman.

A lonely spirit being led to eternal bliss by a lover on a Babylonian clay tablet. White line tracing © James Fraser and Chris Cobb for The First Ghosts, by Irving Finkel. Photograph: The British Museum
A lonely spirit being led to eternal bliss by a lover on a Babylonian clay tablet. White line tracing © James Fraser and Chris Cobb for The First Ghosts, by Irving Finkel. Photograph: The British Museum

It is part of an exorcist’s guide to getting rid of unwanted ghosts by addressing the particular malaise that brought them back to the world of the living — in this case, a ghost in urgent need of a companion. He is seen strolling with his arms outstretched, his wrists bound by a rope carried by a female, while an accompanying text describes a ceremony that will happily send them to the underworld.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Dr. Irving Finkel, the curator of the Middle East section at the British Museum, noticed that the tablet had been incorrectly deciphered before. The drawing had been missed as the ghost only comes to life when viewed from above and under a light.

Irving Finkel, a world authority on cuneiform script, tells the story of his ghostly discovery in The First Ghosts. Photograph: Dave Cherry
Irving Finkel, a world authority on the cuneiform script, tells the story of his ghostly discovery in The First Ghosts. Photograph: Dave Cherry

Dr. Irving Finkel said the “absolutely spectacular object from antiquity” had been overlooked until now.

Finkel believes the tablet was part of a library of magic in the house of an exorcist or in a temple.

Just in time for Halloween, the ghost has come. Finkel’s next book, The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies, will be released by Hodder & Stoughton on November 11th.

Related Articles

Ancient Babylon Excavation Uncovers 478 Artifacts Including Cuneiform Tablets, and Cylindrical Seals

16 October 2024

16 October 2024

The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) announced that 478 artifacts were uncovered during an excavation expedition in...

How Sumerians in Mesopotamia Perfected Asphalt-Like Materials 4,000 Years Ago

19 February 2026

19 February 2026

More than 4,000 years ago, long before highways and petroleum refineries, Sumerian craftspeople in southern Mesopotamia were perfecting material formulas...

New Details on Mummification Techniques

28 February 2021

28 February 2021

In ancient Egypt, embalming was considered a sacred art, and knowledge of the process was restricted to a few. Egyptologists...

The Historical Building Next To The Million Stone Will Sell

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

Everyone has heard of the Million Stone, which was built during the Byzantine Empire and accepted as the zero points...

7500-year-old cursed city of Iran

17 March 2023

17 March 2023

Sialk Hills, located in the southwestern part of Kashan city in Iran, was known among the locals as a ‘cursed...

Unearthing the Birthplace of the Alphabet: Archaeologists Return After 14 Years of Silence

10 November 2025

10 November 2025

After more than a decade of silence, the ancient civilization of Ugarit, once one of the most influential trade hubs...

2700-year-old Assyrian carvings found near Mashki Gate destroyed by Isis

20 October 2022

20 October 2022

The U.S. and Iraqi archaeologists have unearthed ancient rock carvings believed to be more than 2,700 years old in Iraq’s...

‘Dinosaur dance floor’ dating back 80 million years found in China

20 April 2021

20 April 2021

In China, researchers have found many dinosaur footprints in an area of 1,600 square meters described in the literature as...

5,700-Year-old Ancient “Chewing Gum” Gives Information About People and Bacteria of the Past

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have successfully extracted the complete human genome from “chewing gum” thousands of years ago....

A new magnetic survey of the ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad has revealed a 127-room villa twice the size of the U.S. White House

26 December 2024

26 December 2024

Archaeologists in northern Iraq have conducted an extensive magnetic survey using an exhaustive magnetic survey at Khorsabad, once the ancient...

Last Assyrian Capital “Ninive”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

Ninive is an ancient Assyrian city located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northern Iraq, near today’s...

Oldest Recorded Gynecological Treatment

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

In their latest research, scientists have come across a treatment practice in a mummy from 4000 years ago, as written...

Iconic Double Arch collapsed after an ancient pyramid in America, Tribes Link Fall With ‘Bad Omen’

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Two ancient North American structures collapsed within just nine days of one another. The iconic Double Arch, also known as...

The 3400-year-old city belonging to a mysterious Kingdom emerged from the Tigris river

30 May 2022

30 May 2022

Archaeologists from Germany and Kurdistan have discovered a 3,400-year-old Mittani Empire-era city on the Tigris River. The ruins emerged on...

The Most Important Works of Achaemenid Persian Metalwork “Oxus Treasure”

21 May 2021

21 May 2021

The Oxus Treasure is a collection of 180 precious metal objects unearthed on the north bank of the Oxus River...