The Preserver of Life was the ship built in the
Epic of Gilgamesh by
Utnapishtim and the craftsmen of his village at the request of
Enki Ea to hold his wife and relatives, as well as the village craftspeople, the animals to be saved, and various grains and seeds. It was made of solid timber, so that the rays of
Shamash (the sun) would not shine in, and of equal dimensions in length and width. The design of the ship was supposedly drawn on the ground by Enki, and the frame of the ark, which was made in five days, was 200 feet in length, width and height, with a floor-space of one acre. The ark interior had seven floors, each floor divided into 9 sections, finishing the ark fully on the seventh day. The entrance to the ship was sealed once everyone had boarded the ship. Contrary to
Noah's Ark, however, it was sealed by clay.