It seems the Epic of Gilgamesh isn't available online in in Akkadian, that is, in Cuneiform script.

There is a transliterated version, but I can't connect it to the tablet (not sure if that's the right tablet, but it seems to be one of them) via the glyphs.

There also seem to be versions where the text is read aloud in the original language, but I don't know what their source is.

So my question is, where can I find the original tablets (preferably high high-resolution images of them) online, perhaps on a university or museum website? I'm not sure if they are all in one place or if you'd have to look for each one individually at different places. If they are in different places, then I'm wondering where you can find any one of them in high-resolution.

If they don't exist, or in addition, having images of the texts similar to this would work great as well. Seeing something like this would also be nice.


As you know from my answer to your earlier question, the best preserved tablets containing the standard Akkadian version of the Gilgameš Epic were discovered in the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh by Hormuzd Rassam in 1853, and are now held in the British Museum.

A number of those tablets are available as high-resolution images from the British Museum website. Note that there is a searchable index to the British Museum's online collection. If you register & request the image you will be sent a high-resolution version by email under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

(One of those images - The "Flood tablet" - was attached to my answer to your earlier question. For guidance, the high-resolution .TIF file that I received was 2349 x 2500 pixels)

In general, researchers can generally view the originals by appointment at the museum's study rooms. Photographs may be taken in the study rooms with the permission of study room staff.

Note also that there is specific guidance for Studying cuneiform tablets at the British Museum.

  • "Studying cuneiform tablets" - so if I read that right, you can turn up at the British Museum and actually hold a text written five millennia ago. OK, you need a plausible story for why you need to see it - but even so! – Martin Bonner supports Monica Oct 24 '18 at 15:30
  • @MartinBonner Well, you need to have an appointment, and you will be expected to abide by the rules, but otherwise, yes. And I can tell you from experience that study room staff are generally very friendly and extremely helpful – sempaiscuba Oct 24 '18 at 15:39

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