How long did it take to build a ziggurat?
The earliest are dated to 4000 BCE, so you can imagine that there are no records that would help you. They were constructed out of sun dried mud bricks. It's not the same thing, but maybe knowing about the Pyramids will give you some idea. The Great Pyramid of Cheops was built at Giza in Egypt around 2500 BCE. The current theory is that it took twenty years to build. It was constructed out of two ton blocks of granite that came from 600 miles up river. From the excavations near the Pyramid, it is estimated that the work force was somewhere between 50 to 100,000 and that they may have worked only part of the year. Given the lighter materials and the relative size, ( the ziggurats were supposed to be smaller) I would say that they could probably build the ziggurats in less time, even if they had less people. I hope this helps.
What is a ziggurat?
Ziggurats were a form of temple tower common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest examples of the ziggurat were simple raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period[1] during the fourth millennium BCE and the latest date from the 6th century BCE. The top of the ziggurat was flat, unlike many pyramids. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the Great Ziggurat of Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. As to the second part of your question; check the link below, read up on them and decide for yourself. The answer will be subjective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat
What is a ziggurat?
A ziggurat[1] primarily refers to a Temple tower, or an artificial mud-brick mound, sometimes composed of a series of superimposed terraces, on which was built a temple or sanctuary. It is a typical Sumerian structure which was also built by the later Babylonians and Assyrians.(Image credits:- Keywords)Perhaps the greatest ziggurat was that of Nebuchadnezzar, built in the first half of the 6th century BC at Babylon, which consisted of 8 superimposed terraces. On these terraces were the gardens, often referred to as “The hanging gardens of Babylon”[2].(Image credits:- Wallpaper Cave)Footnotes[1] Ziggurat - Wikipedia[2] Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Wikipedia
MOST FAMMOUS ZIGGURAT of all?
Great Ziggurat of Ur. The Ziggurat was built as a place of worship, dedicated to the moon god Nanna (or Suen. The name Nanna is Sumerian for "illuminator."), in the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia (30°57′46″N, 46°06′10″E). The temple, a huge stepped platform, was constructed approximately in the 21st century BC by king Ur-Nammu. In Sumerian times it was called Etemennigur. Today, after more than 4000 years, the ziggurat is still well preserved in large parts as the only major remainder of Ur in present-day southern Iraq.
Ziggurat help??!?
The main themes that seem to make sense of the ziggurat were: a) a TEMPLE - that is a DWELLING for the gods, where they can meet/live with humanity b) a stylized MOUNTAIN ( in the Ancient world mountains are often the 'connecting point between heaven and earth' where God/gods come to meet with humans; compare Mount Olympus and Mount Sinai. Note that there WERE no mountains in Babylonia, so if you wanted one you'd have to 'build' one.) c) a STAIRWAY the gods can descend Note that the Babylonian ziggurat, or plays on it, seem to be reflected in two biblical passages * Genesis 11 - the "tower of Babel [=Babylon]" * Genesis 28 - the "stairway" from heaven to earth in Jacob's dream [and the PLACE where it happens is then named "Bethel", i.e., "house of God") (In Genesis the second story seems to play off the first. Genesis 11 is a humorous story, full of wordplays [mostly lost in the English]** the Babylonians as trying to reach [and in a sense 'control'] heaven. On the other hand, it is God himself who initiates the meeting with Jacob.) ** the one wordplay that English translations in some sense preserve is on the NAME -- "Babel" is actually the ordinary Hebrew word for "Babylon" and is so translated in evey other biblical use. The decision to use "Babel" here may be affected by the convenient fact that English has the word "babble" which is very nearly the POINT of the Hebrew story (in which the name is said to be based on the "confusion" [Hebrew - balal] of tongues) The following is from a page that lays out what we know about ziggurats and tries to suggest a more precise summary of their meaning: "The ziggurat was a structure that was built to support the stairway simmiltu), which was believed to be used by the gods to travel from one realm to the other. It was solely for the convenience of the gods and was maintained in order to provide the deity with the amenities that would refresh him along the way (food, a place to lie and rest, etc.). The stairway led at the top to the gate of the gods, the entrance to the divine abode." http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Arts... See also: http://i-cias.com/e.o/ziggurat.htm http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/...
Have anybody ever visited the interior of Ur's Ziggurat? Are there any photos?
I don't know if ziggurats actually have interior spaces, but I can't recall seeing any interior diagrams of ziggurats so I assume they were solid structures through and through. This is what I've come to know from my history lessons over 40 years ago:Ziggurats were built in receding tiers on a rectangular, square or sometimes oval platform. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat. Fired bricks (often with glazed facings in different colours) were used as facings on the exterior for religious or astrological purposes.Usually there were structures (temples?) at the top of the ziggurat. Only priests were allowed inside those structures -- to tend to the needs of the deities -- so that made the priests a very powerful class of people in society.A quick Google search hasn't show up any interior pictures either.
Has the Ziggurat of Ur been reconstructed?
Yes. In fact, it is the most restored Ziggurat so far. The Great Ziggurat of Ur
A ziggurat has an altar. it has 2 parts. what is it?
Ziggurats were a form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia.The earliest examples of the ziggurat date from the end of the third millennium BCE and the latest date from the 6th century BCE. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the Great Ziggurat of Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. Through the ziggurat the gods could be close to mankind and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted inside the ziggurat and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. As a result the priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.
How did the Sumerian ziggurat compare and differ from the Old Kingdom Egyptian mastaba?
A mastaba was a flat-roofed, rectangular building with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period. Mastabas were constructed out of mud-bricks or stone. When a mastaba was built for the burial of the Third Dynasty king Djoser, the architect Imhotep enlarged the basic structure to be a square, then built a similar, but smaller, mastaba-like square on top of this, and added a fourth, fifth, and sixth square structure above that. The resulting building is the Step Pyramid, the first of the many pyramid tombs which succeeded it. Thus the mastaba is the first step towards the more famous Pyramids. A ziggurat was a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Iran, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories or levels. Some modern buildings with a Step pyramid shape have also been termed ziggurats. The earliest examples of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BC, and the latest date from the 6th century BC. The top of the ziggurat was flat, unlike many pyramids. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the Great Ziggurat of Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. The ziggurats had no internal chambers. CONCLUSION: Both were raised structures with flat tops. Mastabas were tombs, while ziggurats dwelling places for the gods.