ziggurats
Stepped ancient temples
Ziggurats are massive terraced structures built in ancient Mesopotamia, rising in successive levels like a stepped pyramid.
Each level was smaller than the one below, with a temple or shrine at the top.
The most famous may be the biblical Tower of Babel, thought to describe a ziggurat.
The ruins of ziggurats still stand in modern Iraq.
Ancient southern Mesopotamia
- BabylonAncient Mesopotamian capital
- AssyriaAncient Mesopotamian empire
- UrEarly Mesopotamian metropolis
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
Tigris · Euphrates · Marduk · Ishtar · Anu · Nebuchadnezzar · Gilgamesh · Hammurabi
Sacred worship structure
- shrineSacred devotional place
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- altarSacred ritual table
- priestsOrdained religious leaders
worship · deities · rituals · offerings · divine · sacred · cosmology · heaven
Arranged in successive levels
- tieredHaving multiple levels
- platformsElevated flat surfaces
- levelsHeights or ranked stages
- stairwayFixed ascending passage
mudbrick · buttress · facade · receding · monumental · massive · elevation · ramp
Pointed polyhedral solid
- towerTall slender edifice
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
- edificeLarge impressive building
- landmarkNotable point of reference
imposing · colossal · symbolic · power · permanence · legacy · grandeur · dominance
Act of unearthing
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- remainsContinues in place
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
artifact · preservation · erosion · restoration · ancient · discovery · site · mound
Sumer
Ancient southern Mesopotamia
- BabylonAncient Mesopotamian capital
- AssyriaAncient Mesopotamian empire
- UrEarly Mesopotamian metropolis
cuneiform · Tigris · Euphrates · Marduk · Ishtar · Anu · Nebuchadnezzar · Gilgamesh · Hammurabi · Sargon
temple
Sacred worship structure
priests · worship · deities · rituals · offerings · divine · sacred · cosmology · heaven · earth
terraced
Arranged in successive levels
stairway · mudbrick · buttress · facade · receding · monumental · massive · elevation · ramp · core
pyramid
Pointed polyhedral solid
- towerTall slender edifice
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
- edificeLarge impressive building
landmark · imposing · colossal · symbolic · power · permanence · legacy · grandeur · dominance · skyline
excavation
Act of unearthing
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- remainsContinues in place
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
stratigraphy · artifact · preservation · erosion · restoration · ancient · discovery · site · mound · tell
- Middle EastIraq, Baghdad, Cairo, Iran, Jordan
- ancient ruinsStonehenge, Pompeii, Colosseum, coliseum, Machu Picchu
- ancient sitesPompeii, Stonehenge, pyramids, Colosseum, Giza
- historic structuresColosseum, Parthenon, abbey, coliseum, pyramids
- landmarkspyramids, lighthouse, national monument, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower
- Ancient MesopotamiaBabylon, Assyria, cuneiform, Nineveh, Sumer
zigguratsEgyptian pyramids
Monumental royal tombs, Nile region
Roman temples · Greek temples · Stonehenge · Parthenon · Angkor Wat