The Garden of Eden has been found, according to a researcher who has put forward a bold claim about its location.

In the Bible, the Garden of Eden was a paradise in which Adam and Eve were placed by God.

The oasis featured a river with four branches: Gihon, Euphrates, Tigris and Pishon.

Most scholars have assumed that because the Tigris and Euphrates run through modern-day Iraq, Eden was in that region.

But researcher Mahmood Jawaid has claimed the Biblical garden was actually in northwest Ethiopia.

The chemical engineer based in Texas said that the fertile region of Bahir Dar, near the southern end of Lake Tana and where the Blue Nile begins, is the location based on his careful research.

Mr Jawaid studied the Bible and the Quran at length, focusing on descriptions of Adam and Eve, the rivers and the garden itself.

His paper, published in 2025, has not been peer reviewed.

In it, he noted his belief that the Blue Nile is the biblical Gihon, and the similarities between Lake Tana flowing into numerous waterways, and the four rivers described in Genesis.

It has been proposed that Lake Tana is the Eden in the Bible

He also believed that human evolution supported his theory as Adam may have evolved from Homo habilis or a late form of Australopithecus in the East African Rift Valley near Olduvai Gorge, a region widely considered the "cradle of humanity".

Adam and Eve could have then been "placed" in the highlands of Bahir Dar before they descended, as described in the Quran as "habata" to settle in the Rift Valley.

The region of Bahir Dar is located around 6,000 feet above sea level and boasts green vegetation, plentiful wildlife and the flowing Blue Nile.

This aligns the setting with the description of Eden in both the Bible and the Quran.

MAPPED: Where does Mahmood Jawaid think the Garden of Eden is?

Mr Jawaid wrote: "All clues point to Bahir Dar, near Lake Tana, a region of striking beauty, abundant vegetation, and the source of the Blue Nile, which fits the ancient description of Eden's rivers.

"Lake Tana fits the description of Eden particularly."

His belief is that Lake Tana represents Eden itself, while the garden lies directly to the south, near to Bahir Dar, "east of Eden" according to the Bible where the lake becomes the river.

Mr Jawaid also used linguistic reasoning, arguing that the Gihon is said to have encompassed the land of Cush, an ancient term which is now widely associated with Ethiopia.

In the Book of Genesis, a "flaming sword" is placed by God at the entrance to the garden in order to stop humans from getting to the Tree of Life after Adam and Eve's exile.

Putting forward his theory once again, Mr Jawaid said: "Considering that the valley is surrounded by historically active volcanoes, it is very much possible that the active volcanoes formed the flaming sword mentioned in the Bible."