How tall ziggurat

The structure would have been the highest point in the city by far and, like the spire of a medieval cathedral, would have been visible for miles around, a focal point for travelers and the pious alike. As the Ziggurat supported the temple of the patron god of the city of Ur, it is likely that it was the place where the citizens of Ur would bring agricultural surplus and where they would go to receive their regular food allotments. In antiquity, to visit the ziggurat at Ur was to seek both spiritual and physical nourishment.

Clearly the most important part of the ziggurat at Ur was the Nanna temple at its top, but this, unfortunately, has not survived. Some blue glazed bricks have been found which archaeologists suspect might have been part of the temple decoration.

The lower parts of the ziggurat, which do survive, include amazing details of engineering and design. For instance, because the unbaked mud brick core of the temple would, according to the season, be alternatively more or less damp, the architects included holes through the baked exterior layer of the temple allowing water to evaporate from its core.

The Ziggurat at Ur has been restored twice. The first restoration was in antiquity. The last Neo-Babylonian king, Nabodinus, apparently replaced the two upper terraces of the structure in the 6th century B.

Since this most recent restoration, however, the Ziggurat at Ur has experienced some damage. During the recent war led by American and coalition forces, Saddam Hussein parked his MiG fighter jets next to the Ziggurat, believing that the bombers would spare them for fear of destroying the ancient site.

Sign up for our newsletter! Receive occasional emails about new Smarthistory content. Cite this page as: Dr. Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment. The ziggurat was always built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked brick. The ziggurat at the city Ur is one that has been somewhat rebuilt. The ziggurat at Babylon was named Etemenanki. The tall height of the ziggurat may have also been useful during the seasonal flooding.

There were generally only a few ramps leading up to the top of the ziggurat. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Users' questions Why were Mesopotamian ziggurats so tall? Users' questions.

Esther Fleming April 8, Table of Contents.