Pennsylvania Museum Discovers Rare 'Noah' Skeleton Who Survived Massive Flood

A Pennsylvania museum has discovered a complete human skeleton dating back 6,500 years from southern Iraq in its own storage closet. The humanly remains have been nicknamed "Noah" because research shows the man had survived a great flood.

The Penn Museum, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, announced this week that it had determined the importance of a full male skeleton in its storage closet after digitalizing its records and discovering the skeleton was about 6,500 years old from the southern Iraqi city of Ur, now known as modern-day Nasiriyah.

The man was reportedly around 50-years-old when he was buried and stood at 5 foot 9 inches. Janet Monge, head of physical anthropology at the museum, said that the man appeared to be "well-muscled." He is one of 2,000 complete skeletons in the museum's collection.

The skeleton was reportedly discovered by the excavation team of Sir Leonard Wolley, who excavated the ancient city of Ur in the 1930's. According to the Associated Press, the skeleton was reportedly concealed in a coffin-like box that was buried deep into silt, meaning that the man had survived a massive flood. Therefore, researchers at the Penn Museum have nicknamed the find "Noah."

Dr. William Hafford, manager of the Ur digitalization project at the museum, told Popular Archaeology that instead of naming the skeleton Noah,"Utnapishtim might be more appropriate, for he was named in the Gilgamesh epic as the man who survived the great flood."