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Why has the location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon remained uncertain?

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Reconstructed Ishtar Gate at Babylon near Al-Hillah, Iraq, featuring blue walls decorated with rows of yellow and white animal reliefs and a central arched entrance. — Babylon A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate at the ruins of Babylon, near modern Al-Ḥillah, Iraq.

The location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon remains uncertain because no archaeological evidence has conclusively confirmed their existence or site. While classical authors described the gardens as being near the royal palace in Babylon, excavations have failed to yield definitive remains.12

Archaeologist Robert Koldewey discovered unique foundation chambers and vaults in the northeastern corner of the palace that some researchers proposed as a potential substructure, but this remains speculative. Furthermore, research in the late 20th and early 21st centuries introduced a significant alternative theory: the gardens may have been misidentified by classical sources and were actually constructed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib at his capital, Nineveh. Due to the lack of physical proof and the conflicting historical accounts, the true location of this Seven Wonders of the World site continues to be a subject of scholarly debate.12