The 13th Tablet

The department secretary put her head round the door and mouthed that the professor wanted to see her when she had a moment. Mina put her hand over the receiver and said she would be with him as soon as she could. She resumed her conversation with Jack as soon as the secretary left.

‘Ok Jack, I’ll see if I can leave the office tomorrow afternoon.’

‘Could you ask the Prof to join us too? I haven’t been able to reach him all morning.’

‘I’ll do that. See you tomorrow.’

‘Oh, Mina?’

‘Yes?’

‘Don’t leave Mosul much after lunchtime. There are loads of checkpoints on the road, but it’s still dangerous. Parts of Mosul feel like the Wild West these days.’

‘Thanks. I’ll remind Professor Almeini about that,’ she said ironically.

Mina was pleased Jack had called her and she was looking forward to seeing his work, but before long she was worrying again. What if Nurdin, the restorer-turned-janitor had told the professor about the tablet, or worse, Hassan had met him before seeing her? She felt miserable not being able to discuss her discovery with Professor Almeini. He had been so good to her and this is how she repaid his kindness. She heard a familiar voice in the corridor. It was Hassan. Mina hesitated for a second, then stepped out into the corridor. She beckoned to the young man to follow her into her office.

‘Have you seen Professor Almeini?’

‘Ah yes. I’m sorry. You asked me to come first to see you but I bumped into him, so I decided to talk to him there and then.’

‘Oh dear.’

‘What is the matter?’

‘Nothing. Did you happen to tell him about the tablet you gave me?’ She asked, avoiding his gaze.

Hassan was surprised by her tone. She was usually so direct but now she seemed changed, as if she was hiding something.

‘No. We spoke of the courses I’d have to take and the readings I had to catch up with.’

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, ‘I need to ask you two things. First, would you mind not telling anyone about the tablet you gave me until… until it’s published?’

Hassan could tell she wasn’t being entirely straightforward, but he couldn’t work out what she was being so cagey about.

‘OK Madam. And the second thing?’

‘Where did you say the labourer found it?’

‘I don’t know,’ he answered.

‘That’s really frustrating. You know how important context is in archaeology!’

‘I can find out where the labourer lives if that’s any help,’ said Hassan.

She breathed a little easier. ‘Yes that would be useful.’

Hassan felt compelled to question her. ‘Madam Mina?’

‘Yes Hassan?’

‘…What’s going on?’ he asked.

This clever young man had returned from enemy territory to the difficult path of an honest, hard-working student. She owed him a straightforward answer. Somewhere inside her she also felt the need to share this find with someone, and who better than Hassan? She needed to come clean.

‘You brought me something special the other day.’

’What, the tablet, Madam?’

‘Can I entrust you with something? You must swear that not a word of this conversation will leave the room.’

He looked straight at her. ‘Yes, you can. You know you can. I swear not to tell a living soul.’ He felt a wave of pride that Mina was about to confide in him.

‘You remember how heavy the tablet was?’ she asked the young man.

‘Yes.’

‘There was something inside it.’

‘Inside… you… you broke it?’

She blushed. ‘Well. I think you should have a look at what I found.’

She pulled out the shiny black tablet from her handbag and placed it on the desk. Hassan’s eyes widened in awe. ‘What is it?’

‘Hassan, this is probably the strangest account of The Flood that I know of.’

‘You mean, stranger than the fact it was encased in clay?’

‘Do you know Hassan, I’m glad you’re back.’

He beamed with pride.

‘Yes. Why would this have been hidden to start with? There must be something in the text… some secret information.’

‘Now you’ve been reading too many mystery novels.’

‘Why not? What else is strange about it?’

She described odd features of the tablet, pointing out to her wide-eyed student the various complex mathematical equations in place of the usual elementary Ark measurements, and the unexpectedly Jewish-sounding moralistic explanation of the Flood.

‘This could be one of the most important finds in Mosul in decades,’ Hassan stammered, clearly astonished.

‘I know,’ she answered, lost in her own thoughts.

‘And to think I just handed it to you like that,’ he said, looking utterly defeated.

‘Yup,’ she giggled. ‘You could have made a fortune. Instead,’ she added, ‘you’ll be famous.’

‘At least my mother will be happy,’ he answered with a smile.

Mina laughed. She was so happy to find that Hassan hadn’t changed, he was still as sharp and funny as he had been in her classes. But she suddenly became serious.

‘We need to keep this information to ourselves.’

‘I understand.’

‘You need to find the labourer’s whereabouts. I don’t think for a second that this tablet was stolen from a museum. He must have found it somewhere in an illegal dig.’

Hassan picked up his things. ‘I’m on it Madam. I’ll get the information by tomorrow.’