There has been recent archeological evidence of an event which lead to the stories of the great flood (Babylonian one long preceded biblical). Specifically, there is evidence that the Black Sea was a freshwater lake until about 5500 BCE and the surface was several hundred feet below sea level. At about that time, the Bosporus, which had been acting as a dam against the Mediterranean sea (sea of Marmorra), split open and the water rose very rapidly to sea level, flooding all settlements near the old shore. Some people escaped and began the flood legends.