fossil_digger Report This Comment Date: July 30, 2006 06:13PM
This ziggurat was erected to the moon god Nanna. It was built by Ur-Nammu at Ur
around 2113-2096 B.C. It was composed of three stages. It is not clear whether
there was a temple at the top. The remains of the ziggurat probably stood over
an existing structure going back to the early dynastic period, and restored by
the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (556-539 B.C.). It is the most preserved of
all ziggurats in Mesopotamia and has been partially reconstructed reaching a
hight of 11 m. It stood within a rectangular court 62.5 m x 43 m. at the base.
Its outer faces are of baked brick, are inclined to a pronounced batter and have
regularly spaced, flat buttresses. These outer faces encase the solid core of
mudbricks. Access to the ziggurat was through three converging ramps from where
a central stairway continued to the second stage. The shape of the staircase
leading to the third stage is unclear.
Anonymous Report This Comment Date: July 31, 2006 07:43PM
very cool..