Below, a somewhat "schematized" ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seal impression of a "large" boat being propelled at its prow by the use of a forked punting pole while at the rear the craft is steered by means of an oar or paddle. In the center of the craft stands a king or priest (?) with a shrine to his left and a bull with a portable (?) shrine on its back. Could this craft be what is behind the Mesopotamian Noah's ark which was provisioned with a supply of "punting poles" in the Shuruppak flood myth story preserved in the Epic of Gilgamesh ? If the bull is intended to be a real animal, then these craft were capable of transporting very sizable animal cargoes, obviously sheep and goats would be no problem if bulls can be transported. Is this notion of live animal cargo behind the Shuruppak Flood Myth, Ziusudra loading animals aboard his boat as well as a provision of "punting poles" ? Note the "cabin" (?) at the rear of the craft, was this transformed via embelishment and hyperbole into the 7 story Ziusudra Ark ? Or could the rectangular shrine, subdivided into 5 tiers [the two tiered shrine on the bulls back would give us 7 tiers] (?) aboard this boat have been transformed into Ziusudra's 7- story Ark ?(For the photo cf. p. 57. "Sumer und Akkad." Barthel Hrouda. Editor. Der Alte Orient, Geschichte und Kultur des alten Vorderasien.Munchen. C. Bertelsmann Verlag GmbH. 1991, 1998. ISBN 3572-00867-0)
