Ziggurat
Title
Ziggurat
Date
ca. 2100 BCE
Date Created
October 21, 2014
Identifier
1584
Work Type
Single Built Works
Work Location
Iraq (nation)
Tall al-Muqayyar (deserted settlement)
Style/Period
Neo-Sumerian
Subject
ziggurats
Description
View of the Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq. "The ziggurat is the most distinctive architectural invention of the Ancient Near East. Like an ancient Egyptian pyramid, an ancient Near Eastern ziggurat has four sides and rises up to the realm of the gods ... a massive rectangular pyramidal structure, oriented to true North, 210 by 150 feet, constructed with three levels of terraces, standing originally between 70 and 100 feet high. Three monumental staircases led up to a gate at the first terrace level. Next, a single staircase rose to a second terrace which supported a platform on which a temple and the final and highest terrace stood. The core of the ziggurat is made of mud brick covered with baked bricks laid with bitumen, a naturally occurring tar. Each of the baked bricks measured about 11.5 x 11.5 x 2.75 inches and weighed as much as 33 pounds. The lower portion of the ziggurat, which supported the first terrace, would have used some 720,000 baked bricks,"--Kahn Academy website.
Material/Medium
brick (clay product)
Reproduction Type
jpeg
Copyright Statement
©2013 Lawrence Technological University. These images may be used for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of LTU.
ID Number
A1SUUR2-52100BE2A1
- Date Added
- August 29, 2013
- Collection
- LTU Digital Images
- Item Type
- VRA Core
- Citation
- “Ziggurat,” LTU Digital Images, accessed May 2, 2024, https://ltuimagecollection.omeka.net/items/show/12832.