Ziggurat

Built well over 3,000 years ago (c. 1380 BCE), the Eugal (Sum. é.u.gal) ziggurat at Dūr-Kurigalzu in southern Iraq still dominates the landscape.  Although in a heavily deteriorated state, the original ziggurat, along with modern reconstruction efforts and other buildings unearthed during archaeological excavations at Dūr-Kurigalzu can be viewed using satellite imagery from Google Earth. This work explores possible celestial orientations for various points of the ziggurat, as well as possible sunlight and shadow scenarios pertaining to Mesopotamian justice and/or divination.

Background. Over the last century, scholars have deciphered cuneiform texts on mathematics and astronomy (Neugebauer & Sachs 1955) associated with Mesopotamia's religious architecture, calendars and iconography (Curatorla 2007). However, no systematic investigation of possible astronomical orientation has been made of Mesopotamia's many ziggurats and temples. The availability of geo-referenced/sub-meter resolution satellite imagery now makes such analysis feasible; despite the region's ongoing military conflicts preventing Ground Truth field survey.

ABSTRACT.  This paper examines the astro-orientation, geometry and metrology of a random sample (n=5) of Mesopotamian ziggurat/temples (3000-550 BC) with archaeological site plans, GIS/satellite imaging, and astronomical software.  The major finding is that ziggurats appear orientated to sun rise/set at the solstices and equinox, moon rise/set at the midwinter/midsummer major/minor standstills, and/or Venus rise/set at zenith/nadir passage.  Evidence is also presented that the length/width ratios of rectangular ziggurat platforms and temple floorplans were based on 3:4:5 (n=2), 20:21:29 Pythagorean Triples (n=2) and 1:1:√2 square (n=1).  The best fit for integer linear units of measurement are the Mesopotamian cubit (n=2) for length/width and (unexpectedly) Egyptian Old Kingdom setat (n=3) for area.

In early cosmogony, axis mundi served an important spiritual role in numerous cultures as a sacred space where heaven and earth intersected. Each culture conceived of axis mundi in a distinctive and often well-defined way. These differences can be appreciated both separately and when they are viewed as a part of more universal archetypes. The idea of geographical locations where access is opened to the heavens and sometimes the underworld is undeniably a significant part of both early cosmogony and the history of religions. Representations of axis mundi vary and some cultures had more than one center of the world. It is symbolized by mountains, mounds, boulders, trees, and other natural phenomena. Objects of human craftsmanship such as temples, poles, pillars, and ladders could also be viewed as a center axis between the ethereal and terrestrial realms. Often, these objects would take their form from the natural world. Ziggurats and other temples were often modeled after cosmic mountains and many pillars and poles symbolized world trees. This brief work will discuss examples of axis mundi and its relationship to cosmology.

The pyramids, ziggurats and sacred mountains had very similar purposes and usage. Although now it may serve as tourist attractions, there is a deeper mystery of their existence. This article gives a comparative analysis and human evolution of thoughts regarding the power of creator- God for all and the efforts to connect with the creator by erecting monuments..

Chahar Taqi is the most frequent and basic volume in the Iranian Architecture. The structure of Mehr Temple, Anahita Temple, and then the fire temple was among the old functions of this element, which has been used as the main structure of the mosque and shrine after the advent of Islam. Many experts consider Chahar Taqi not only a functional element but also, an element with mythical and sacred aspects. Also, the mountain has been a multidimensional, functional, and sacred element among the Iranian myths. That is why many of the ancient rituals were held in the direct relationship with the mountains and the caves inside the mountains were considered as the first temples in Iran as other civilizations, and we witness that the Iranian have founded their own temples considering the sanctity of the mountain and cave. Sometimes, temples were built on the hillside or the top of the mountain, and sometimes, they were built in the form of the ziggurats and inspired by mountains such as Elamites. Therefore, man-made architecture adopts its sanctity from the mountain. Thus, Thus, questions arise on Chahar Taqi as what is the root of its sanctity and whether its mythical and sacred aspects, such as the ziggurat, can be related to the mountain. The current study investigates the common rituals of circumambulation and sacrifice between three elements of mountain, ziggurat (as intermediate) and Chahar Taqi. using qualitative research method, it also examines the relationship of each of these elements with Mehr or Sun through documentary study and exploratory approach. The results show that although ziggurats in Iran have been destroyed, the relationship between mountain and the architecture of the temples of Iran still exists. It can be said that this mythical relationship between Chahar Taqi and mountain has been established and in other terms, Chahar Taqi represents the continuity of the mountain’s sanctity in Iranian architecture.

The discovery on the west Mediterranean
island of Sardinia during the 1950s of a ziggurat-like
monument dating to the early 4th millennium B.C.E.
kindled the still unresolved debate over its cultural
heredity. Toward resolving this issue, the so-called
Red Temple at Monte d’Accoddi is compared here to
Near Eastern ziggurats in terms of geotechnical and
architectural detail, and related cult observances. On
these criteria, and a consideration of genomic parameters
it is concluded that serious consideration needs
to be given to the notion that the edifice in question
is a manifestation of a migration event of as yet unknown
nature and duration initiated from Mesopotamia
sometime in the first-half of the 4th millennium.
Keywords : Sardinia, Neolithic, Mesopotamia, Uruk
Period, Temple Architecture.

ERRATUM
Figure 9 should read:
Fig. 9. Temple plans. a. Small shrine in S44 at Khafajah (after Delougaz and Lloyd 1942, pl. 16) ; b. Tepe Gawra stratum viiib, chamber R. 833 (after Speiser 1935.27) ; c. Temple O 43 at Khafajah (after Delougaz and Lloyd 1942, pl. 17) ; d. Tepe Gawra stratum x, shrine/ room 1003 (after Tobler 1950, pl. liii) ; e. Tepe Gawra stratum viii a-c, Northern Shrine/cult chamber R. 808 (after Speiser 1935 pl. ix ) ; f. Red Temple at Monte d’Accoddi (after Traverso 2007-2009, fig. 2).

The archaeological evidence concerning the ziggurat of Nippur in the 1st Millennium BC Ekur temple is assembled and analyzed via unpublished documentation from the Penn Museum Nippur Archive, later photographic documentation as well as on-site study in 2021. The description of several construction phases elucidates the later history of this main Mesopotamian sanctuary. This publication revises earlier studies and because of additional evidence updates the archaeological documentation.
https://www.zaphon.de/ziqqurrat-von-nippur/en

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02278443/document
En matière de construction publique, la période de la Troisième dynastie d 'Ur, à la charnière des troisième et deuxième millénaires avant J.-C., est particulièrement intéressante car elle nous a laissé aussi bien des vestiges archéologiques importants, en particulier les célèbres ziggurats d'Ur, d'Uruk, d'Eridu et de Nippur ainsi que les complexes religieux attenants, mais également une énorme quantité de textes administratifs. Parmi ceux-ci un certain nombre concernent des activités de construction et nous fournissent des informations considérables sur l'organisation du travail, les tâches demandées aux ouvriers, les matériaux utilisés, etc. Ces données peuvent être complétées par celles des textes dits « m athématiques » ayant servi à l'apprentissage des scribes, qui datent pour la plupart de l 'époque paléo-babylonienne, quelque deux ou trois siècles plus tard, mais documentent les mêmes données (standards de mesures, tâches journalières, types de briques, etc.). Pour cette époque charnière, où les programmes de construction publique, notamment religieuse, ont pris une dimension nouvelle, imposant des solutions techniques neuves comme une gestion bureaucratique des chantiers, nous avons l 'opportunité rare de pouvoir confronter les données archéologiques et les données épigraphiques, pour une fois complémentaires.

Ātašgāh is an ancient mud brick construction over a hill within the green gardens in the Mārbīn region, west of Isfahan in Iran. There is evidence to prove the existence of a long standing culture and civilization there, with natural-landscape features that are important components of the cultural milieu in settlement both for tourists and local people. In order to protect this cultural landscape and to ensure that Ātašgāh's archaeological site to be known as an important heritage to draw tourists, explorers and adventurers in all times, it is a must to address its values, sense and spirit of the place. Therefore, in this paper, the aim has been to recognize the established relation between the Ātašgāh and its region (the Mārbīn region) as accurately and completely as possible in order to tell about its history, the way it was constructed and destroyed, the people who lived there, various activities and happenings, and the previous uses of the site. This effort will also lead us to an understanding of the culture and lifestyle of the citizens of Isfahan during the previous eras.
An interpretive-historical research method has been adopted to carry out this study, and to serve this goal, a dual interaction between “the gardens, farmlands, watercourses, Ātašgāh” and “the cultural milieu” has been taken into consideration with reference to mythical accounts and religious principles.

The start of the Vanguards marked a period of crisis for the museum and its architecture. However, there would exist visionary proposals made by the greatest architects of the time such as Le Corbusier and Wright. Through their graphic legacy, the coincidences and differences of their solutions based on the ancestral forms of the ziggurat and the spiral, used as a typological innovation will be explained. Le Corbusier tested his exhibition space in the social areas of his houses and continued drawing and varying its archetypal museum as a ziggurat, to be compacted into the spiral of unlimited growth; Wright, meanwhile, began designing a circular one, whose geometry was born on the ramps of the Gordon Strong Planetarium, then continued flipping the volume and creating a downward helical path where form and function are one.

Contact me via e-mail at [email protected] for the full PDF. ABSTRACT: The paper presents the different phases of construction of the Kassite dynasty Ekur (Nippur). The discussion is focused on the northeastern part of the ziggurat courtyard. In an appendix current research on some documented objects from the Ekur of the Kassite period is presented.

Ātašgāh is an ancient mud brick construction over a hill within the green gardens in the Mārbīn region, west of Isfahan in Iran. There is evidence to prove the existence of a long standing culture and civilization there, with natural-landscape features that are important components of the cultural milieu in settlement both for tourists and local people. In order to protect this cultural landscape and to ensure that Ātašgāh's archaeological site to be known as an important heritage to draw tourists, explorers and adventurers in all times, it is a must to address its values, sense and spirit of the place. Therefore, in this paper, the aim has been to recognize the established relation between the Ātašgāh and its region (the Mārbīn region) as accurately and completely as possible in order to tell about its history, the way it was constructed and destroyed, the people who lived there, various activities and happenings, and the previous uses of the site. This effort will also lead us to an understanding of the culture and lifestyle of the citizens of Isfahan during the previous eras.
An interpretive-historical research method has been adopted to carry out this study, and to serve this goal, a dual interaction between “the gardens, farmlands, watercourses, Ātašgāh” and “the cultural milieu” has been taken into consideration with reference to mythical accounts and religious principles.

The start of the Vanguards marked a period of crisis for the museum and its architecture. However, there would exist visionary proposals made by the greatest architects of the time such as Le Corbusier and Wright. Through their graphic legacy, the coincidences and differences of their solutions based on the ancestral forms of the ziggurat and the spiral, used as a typological innovation will be explained. Le Corbusier tested his exhibition space in the social areas of his houses and continued drawing and varying its archetypal museum as a ziggurat, to be compacted into the spiral of unlimited growth; Wright, meanwhile, began designing a circular one, whose geometry was born on the ramps of the Gordon Strong Planetarium, then continued flipping the volume and creating a downward helical path where form and function are one.