What Is a Ziggurat?
A Ziggurat is a terraced monumental structure resembling a stepped pyramid with a flat summit. Ziggurats were stepped temple towers constructed in ancient Mesopotamia—modern-day: Iraq and western Iran.
Description of Ziggurats
Ziggurats were built on rectangular, oval, or square raised platforms and consisted of two to seven receding tiers.
- The core was made from sun-baked mud bricks
- The outer facing used fired bricks, often glazed in colour
- Some bricks bore inscriptions naming kings
- Access to the upper levels was provided by:
- A series of ramps, or
- A single spiral ramp ascending from base to summit
Purpose and Religious Significance
Ziggurats were constructed between c. 4000 BCE and c. 500 BCE as part of temple complexes by the:
- Sumerians
- Akkadians
- Babylonians
- Assyrians
- Elamites
Only priests were permitted to enter these sacred complexes.
The Ziggurat was believed to be the residence of a god or patron deity of the city and served as a symbolic connection between Heaven and Earth.
Cities were often built around the Ziggurat, which may also have served as a place of refuge during attacks.
Famous Examples of Ziggurats
Ziggurats in Iraq
-
-
Great Ziggurat of Ur, Nasiriyah, Iraq
Reconstructed façade, c. 2000 BCE -
Great Ziggurat of Babylon (Etemenanki)
Dedicated to the god Marduk, located in Babylon, Hillah, Iraq
Built c. 610 BCE
Believed to be the Biblical Tower of Babel
Constructed using Bitumen mortar
Now destroyed -
White Temple of Uruk, Warka, Iraq
A simple early form of a Ziggurat
-
Ziggurats in Iran
Ziggurat-Like Structures Outside Mesopotamia
-
-
Monte d’Accoddi, near Portotorres, Sardinia
A large terraced altar with an inclined ramp, resembling a Ziggurat
-
Ancient Sources
-
Herodotus
He described a shrine atop each Ziggurat, though archaeological evidence for this remains unproven.
Great Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq