Video: Decoding the Past - Mysteries of the Garden of Eden

Summary:

In this fascinating instalment of Decoding the Past, we enter the gates of Eden on a quest to solve the perplexing puzzles of paradise. In the Bible, the Garden of Eden represents the paradise lost by mankind because of his sins. A host of experts and historians investigate conflicting theories on how paradise was lost, and where it might be found.   The Bible says that Eden was located east of Israel where four rivers meet. The Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq are real, but the Pison and Gihon have long been considered mythical. Yet recent satellite photography analysed by Dr. Juris Zarins suggests these rivers did exist in Iraq, as the Bible proposes. He suggests that the area was lush and green in 6000 BC.   However, as the climate became more difficult and agriculture replaced hunting, man ‘lost’ this paradise. Another theory places Eden’s location beneath the Black Sea. Deep sediment samples suggest this area was dry, fertile land until a massive, post-Ice Age flood destroyed it.   We also examine texts other than the Bible which reinforce the idea of Eden. Both the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh and Ancient Greek texts speak of a paradise lost. We sift through all of the available evidence to decode an age old mystery.