10 December 2025 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

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals Offer Clues to the Origin of Writing

6 November 2024

6 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Bologna have discovered an association between proto-cuneiform and even older stone images engraved on ancient...

A Lynx Buried with Four Big Dogs in an Ancient Roman Well in Hungary

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of an adult male lynx accompanied by four big dogs in a Roman-era pit in...

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...

Africa May not be Where the First Pre-Human First Appeared

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

According to one opinion: About 2 million years ago, our first ancestors moved north from their hometown and left Africa....

Ancient Hebrew “Incantation Bowls” discovered in a home in Israel

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Monday that 1,500-year-old magical “incantation bowls” and other rare and ornate bone and ivory...

World’s Oldest Settlement Plan Found in “Çatalhöyük”

15 February 2021

15 February 2021

With the beginning of the Holocene period, many lakes have dried up and have become suitable for settlement. It is...

Mustatil Structures in Arabia May Be 7,000-Year-Old Stone Remnants of Cattle Cult

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

Archaeologists examining the mustatil stone remains in the northwest of Arabia think that these stone remains may have been used...

Archaeologists Discover Monumental Uruk-Period Building in Kani Shaie, Northern Iraq

29 October 2025

29 October 2025

A research team from the University of Coimbra’s Center for Studies in Archaeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences (CEAACP) has announced...

KIŠIB: A Digital Archive From 80,000 Mesopotamian Seals is Being Created

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

Over the next 16 years, a research team from the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at the Free University of...

AI Uncovers Lost Babylonian Hymn After 3,000 Years — A Glorious Ode to the Ancient City

3 July 2025

3 July 2025

Archaeologists and AI experts uncover a 3,000-year-old hymn praising Babylon‘s grandeur, revealing rare insights into ancient urban society, education, and...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

30 March 2023

30 March 2023

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore,...

Mysterious Rods Found in 5,500-year-old Tomb identified to Be Earliest Drinking Straws

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

Russian archaeologists argue that the rods unearthed in an early bronze age tomb in the Caucasus are the oldest known...

‘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...