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Ziggurat
Ziggurat, pyramidal stepped tower consisting of several levels, the uppermost of which may have supported a temple. It is one of the most distinctive architectural forms from ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest ziggurats appeared in southern Mesopotamia about 2600 bce, developing from the elevated temple platforms of earlier centuries, and continued to be constructed and renovated for nearly 2,000 years, with examples from about 500 bce. Archaeologists have identified approximately 25 to 30 ziggurats, most of them in present-day Iraq, with additional examples in Iran. Built in the cities of ancient Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria, many of these once massive structures survive only as ruins or eroded mounds after centuries of decay and looting of materials. Among the best-preserved examples are the ziggurat of Ur (c. 2100 bce) in southern Iraq and the ziggurat at Choghā Zanbīl (c. 1250 bce) in southwestern Iran.
The ziggurat was built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked bricks, which were sometimes colored or arranged in large geometric patterns. It had no internal chambers and was usually square or rectangular, averaging either 170 feet (about 50 meters) square or 125 × 170 feet (about 40 × 50 meters) at the base. No ziggurat is preserved to its original height. Ascent was by an exterior triple stairway or by a spiral ramp, but for almost half of the surviving ziggurats, no means of ascent has been discovered. Over the centuries many ziggurats were rebuilt and expanded, often obscuring their original designs. Some early archaeologists proposed that the terraces of ziggurats supported gardens irrigated through channels in their brickwork, leading to speculation that a similarly constructed ziggurat might have housed the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. These theories, however, have largely been rejected. Ancient depictions of ziggurats show no evidence of vegetation, and no archaeological remains have conclusively established that their terraces were planted.
Although their precise functions remain uncertain, ziggurats were closely associated with the religious life of ancient Mesopotamia. They were constructed within sacred precincts dedicated to the city’s patron deity, and their imposing height may have symbolized sacred mountains, which were associated with the dwelling places of the gods, or may have expressed a connection between the earthly and divine realms. Moreover, ziggurats’ monumental stepped forms also often made them the tallest points in the city and, like a church steeple, could be seen from miles away. The shrines at the uppermost platforms have not survived, and only traces of physical evidence of shrines have been found. At Ur, for example, the temple believed to have crowned the ziggurat has disappeared, but fragments of blue-glazed brick may have formed part of its decoration. Earlier evidence of elevated religious architecture survives at Uruk (present-day Warka, Iraq), where archaeologists uncovered the remains of the White Temple (late 4th millennium bce) atop a monumental platform. The specific religious ceremonies performed in these shrines remain largely unknown, though they were probably not used for communal worship, as access to the uppermost levels was probably restricted to rulers, priests, and other religious officials.
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