Archaeologists in Iraq have uncovered a significant architectural complex in the ancient city of Nippur that served as an Academy of Lunar Metrology. Dating to the Old Babylonian period, the school was dedicated to the high-precision measurement of lunar and planetary movements. The site includes a central observation courtyard with stone-paved alignments synchronized with the spring equinox.
The excavation's highlight is an archive of rare cuneiform star-transit ledgers. These clay tablets record centuries of observations used to calculate the precise timing of religious festivals and agricultural cycles. Unlike general astrological texts, these ledgers focus on mathematical precision, showing that the Babylonians had developed advanced geometric techniques for predicting celestial positions far earlier than historical records previously suggested.