Is Hammurabi's tablet the first building code?
Mehdi Zaré
Professor of Engineering Seismology , Head of Earthquake Prediction Center, IIEES; and Associate Member , Geology Div, Climate Change Think Tank, Academy of Sciences, Tehran Iran
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by: ?Mehdi Zare 16 April 2023
Attribution of modern human achievements to archaeological findings is still ongoing. Sometimes Cyrus Cylinder is read as the first declaration of human rights, and sometimes Hammurabi's "Tablet" text is read as the first building code and earthquake. Are these types of attributions scientific? In this note, we will focus on Hammurabi's tablet with more emphasis. After the earthquakes of February 6, 2023 in Turkey, it is sometimes mentioned on the internet pages, social networks and satellite programs that humans had building regulations in 1775 BC (3778 years ago), but still today in Iran and Turkey they are not able to set and implement modern regulations! But did mankind really have a building code that could be used in engineering 3,778 years ago?
In further investigation of such claims, we reach the traces of pseudo-archaeology or false archaeology. Such an issue with believing in pseudoscientific claims about natural phenomena and findings is the root of the problem of denial or active ignorance (sometimes pretending to be ignorant!) of what real science is and how it works. Believers in pseudoscience proceed with the view that science or scientists are allowed to act based on beliefs and ideology. Pseudoscience inhibits people's ability to have complete and accurate information and make informed decisions. Such a view, which of course is formed fully consciously and based on beliefs and feelings, can affect many aspects of people's lives. A particular danger in believing the claims of pseudo-archaeology is that it allows one to separate the content from the actual text. Real archeology focuses on CONTEXT. By removing the context from the text, you can arbitrarily attribute whatever meaning you decide to the artifacts. Sometimes this means relying on gut instincts for what is artificial and misapplying the deeper meaning; Like the pseudo-archaeological interpretations of the late Swedish journalist Erik von D?niken, who concluded from some artifacts found in the Andean civilization in South America in his book Chariots of the Gods, 1968, that because they resembled modern airplanes, they must have been left there by ancient astronauts!
Pseudo-archaeology—also known as "alternative archeology," "marginal archeology," "phenomenal archeology," and "cult archeology"—is the interpretation of the past from outside the scientific community of archeology that ignores the discipline's accepted data collection and analytical methods. . These pseudoscientific interpretations involve the use of artifacts, sites, or materials to construct pseudoscientific theories to supplement pseudoarchaeological claims. These methods include exaggeration of evidence, dramatic or romantic conclusions, use of fallacy and falsification of evidence. There is no single theory or approach to pseudoarchaeology, but rather a variety of interpretations of the past that are commonly at odds with the interpretations developed by the scientific community. Some pseudo-archaeological narratives are found in romantic narratives of historical periods or phenomena and stories, including the Tower of Babel and Noah's ark. Some pseudo-archaeologists believe that the ancient world had advanced technology, such as Atlantis, and this idea has been popularized by figures such as Graham Hancock in Fingerprints of the Gods (1995). Archaeologists criticize pseudo-archaeologists for relying on "sensitivity, misuse of logic and evidence, misunderstanding of the scientific method, and internal contradictions in their arguments."
False archeology is often a tool for racist or nationalist ideologies, which ultimately leads to the conclusion that "the intelligence of Iranians is 11 times the average intelligence of the world"(!). The romantic attachment to the ancient history of Iran or a part of the contemporary history leads to the fact that scientific reasoning is put aside and emotions, beliefs and opinions are the basis of judging historical phenomena and events. For example, a group has recently been found who are trying to prove in various media and websites that everything that happened in Iran before the Iranian revolution (1979), and since then, the entire science was left aside in Iran! They do not hesitate to manipulate all the scientific and real evidences and reasons from the ancient past to the present day of Iran in order to place such a belief (undoubtedly wrong). Anyone who disagrees with this "all-black" approach of their image of Iran today is a wage-earner, a ration-eater, and a hired hand! One of the recent references is that Hammurabi's tablet found in Susa (Khuzestan, Iran) in 1901 shows that there was a building code in this area 3778 years ago, but even today, after about 60 years from the first draft of the Seismic Building Code in Iran, science and regulations are ignored in the country!
Hammurabi's tablet and modern laws have many similarities and differences. For example, both are for maintaining order in society. Hammurabi's law is completely based on the social structure. In Hammurabi's Tablet, in the "Building" section of item 229, it is stated: "If a builder builds a house for a man and does not fix the building, and the house he built collapses and kills the owner, the builder will be killed." And item 233: "If a builder builds a house for a man and does not fix the building and If a wall cracks, the builder must strengthen that wall at his own expense.
The black stone containing Hammurabi's code is carved from a four-ton diorite stone; A durable but extremely difficult stone to carve, topped by a 76 cm high relief of Hammurabi standing receiving the law from Shamash, the seated Babylonian god of justice. This tablet, compiled in the form of text at the end of Hammurabi's reign, is not a collection of legal precedents, but rather a prose that glorifies Hammurabi's righteous and pious rule and is a statement of principles. The Code of Hammurabi provides some of the earliest examples or laws of retribution, sometimes known as "an eye for an eye."
One of the important aspects of archeology is to inform the public about the results of research in the field of antiquity, but based on the "likes" on virtual network pages, book sales, newspaper coverage and some television programs, it seems that the general public is strongly attracted to the more extreme and often pseudo-scientific claims of those who claim the use of archaeological data. Pseudo-archaeology uses facts to help bolster its lies. Small and scientific details can make big but false stories believable. The history of archaeological investigations shows that rationality and irrationality go together; both physically and metaphorically. The difficulty lies in the fact that some people who use pseudo-archaeology are (or have been) leading and prestigious people in their field - which is usually another field of science - and by taking advantage of their scientific image and credibility, and because of their beliefs and Personal feelings and ideology use pseudo-archaeology to fit their desired topic! It's like today we are far away from science more than ever, even more than 3778 years ago!