The story of the Ark, built by Noah to save him from the Flood, is known to modern humanity from the biblical Book of Genesis. However, there are much more ancient versions of the legend of the Flood - cuneiform, of which three were known until recently. The Ark Before Noah describes the story of the discovery and decipherment of the so-called “Ark Tablet,” the fourth version of the Flood myth, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. e.; the technical aspects of the construction of the Ark are outlined; a comparison is made of the Mesopotamian versions of the story of the Flood with the biblical and Koranic versions; explores the question of the final stop of the Ark according to various Middle Eastern traditions. The author of the book, Irving Finkel, is a British Assyriologist, assistant curator of the cuneiform collection of the Department of the Near East of the British Museum. The publication is intended for Assyriologists, historians of the Ancient East, literary historians, historians of technology, biblical scholars, religious scholars, philosophers, theologians and anyone interested in the history and culture of the Ancient World.