Ziggurat
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A ziggurat is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding storeys or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the now-destroyed Etemenanki in Babylon, Chogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk. The Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats, so only priests and other highly-respected individuals could enter. Sumerian society offered these individuals such gifts as music, harvested produce, and the creation of devotional statues to entice them to live in the temple.
Partially reconstructed facade and access staircase of the Ziggurat of Ur, originally built by Ur-Nammu, circa 2100 BC
Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat (model). Circa 1300 BC
Elamite Ziggurat of Dur Untash in Persian Choqa Zanbil in Khuzestan, Iran, circa 1300 BC
Al Zaqura Building in Baghdad, constructed in the 1970s
Ziggurat of Ur
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The Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq. The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BC of the Neo-Babylonian period, when it was restored by King Nabonidus.
Partially reconstructed facade and the access staircase of the ziggurat. The actual remains of the Neo-Babylonian structure can be seen at the top.
Drawing of the Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq, by Marjorie V. Duffell for Leonard Woolley, 1937
William Loftus's sketch of his discovery of the ziggurat
U.S. Soldiers from the 17th Fires Brigade make their way up the reconstructed stairs of the Ziggurat of Ur, 2010.