Researchers from LMU Munich and the University of Baghdad have successfully used AI to reconstruct the Hymn of Babylon, a poem lost for over 2,000 years. The hymn, which praises Babylon and its god Marduk, was pieced together from 30 clay fragments. Utilizing a specialized AI program for text fragment analysis, the researchers employed natural language processing techniques such as n-gram matching to identify and reconstruct text fragments. The poem celebrates Babylon’s resources, beauty, and social values, including support for the poor and acceptance of foreigners. Professor Enrique Jiménez noted the hymn’s educational significance in ancient Babylon, suggesting the author was likely part of the priestly class due to the poem's content. The successful reconstruction highlights the growing importance of AI in the field of ancient studies, as researchers continue to address the challenges of fragmented historical texts.

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