HISTORY OF

ARCHITECTURE
-ZIGGURAT
    BY GROUP A
CONTENTS:

 INTRODUCTION
 CONSTRUCTION
 LOCATIONS
 PLAN & SECTION
 ZIGGURAT OF UR
 ZIGGURAT OF DUR-KURIGALZUDDur-Kurigalzu 
ur-Kurigalzu 
INTRODUCTION
ZIGGURAT OF UR
Location : Nasiriyah, Iraq
Region : Mesopotamia
Builder : Ur-Nammu
Founded : c. 3800 BC Abandoned after 500 BC
Periods : Ubaid period to Iron

Archaeologists : John Taylor, Charles Woolley

 Location...
 Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in
ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of
modern Tell el-Muqayyar in southn Iraq's Dhi Qar
Governorate. 

 Although Ur was once a coastal city near the

mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the
coastline has shifted and the city is now well
inland, south of the Euphrates on its right bank,
16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Nasiriyah.
 The Ziggurat (or Great Ziggurat) of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in
what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar
Province, Iraq.

 The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age (21st century
BCE), but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BCE of the Neo-
Babylonian  period when it was restored by King  Nabonidus.

 Its remains were excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by Sir Leonard

Woolley. Under Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, they were encased by a
partial reconstruction of the façade and the monumental staircase.
 The ziggurat of Ur is the best-preserved of those known from Iran and
Iraq.  It is one of three well preserved structures of the Neo-
Sumerian city of Ur, along with the Royal Mausolea and the Palace
of Ur-Nammu
 The ziggurat was built by King Ur-Nammu who dedicated the great ziggurat of Ur in honour
of Nanna/Sîn, in approximately the 21st century BCE (short chronology) during the Third Dynasty of
Ur.

  The massive step pyramid measured 64 m (210 ft) in length, 45 m (148 ft) in width and over 30 m
(98 ft) in height. The height is speculative, as only the foundations of the Sumerian ziggurat have
survived.

 The ziggurat was a piece in a temple complex that served as an administrative centre for the city,
and which was a shrine of the moon god Nanna, the patron deity of Ur.

 The construction of the ziggurat was finished in the 21st century BCE by King  Shulgi, who, in order
to win the allegiance of cities, proclaimed himself a god.

 During his 48-year reign, the city of Ur grew to be the capital of a state controlling much of
Mesopotamia. Many ziggurats were made by stacking mud-bricks up and using mud to seal them
together.
PLAN OF THE ZIGGURAT
 Construction of the Ziggurat...
 The Ziggurat at Ur, a massive stepped pyramid about 210 by 150 feet in
size, is the most well-preserved monument from the remote age of the
Sumerians.

 It consists of a series of successively smaller platforms which rose to a

height of about 64 feet, and was constructed with a solid core of mud-brick
covered by a thick skin of burnt-brick to protect it from the elements.

 Its corners are oriented to the compass points, and like the Parthenon, its
walls slope slightly inwards, giving an impression of solidity.
 The ziggurat was part of a temple complex that served as an administrative centre
for the city, and it was also thought to be the place on earth where the moon god
Nanna, the patron deity of Ur, had chosen to dwell.

 Nanna was depicted as a wise and unfathomable old man with a flowing beard and
four horns, and a single small shrine to the god was placed upon the ziggurat's
summit.

 This was occupied each night by only one person, chosen by the priests from among
everyone in the city.


 A kitchen, likely used to prepare food for the god, was located at the base of one of
the ziggurat's side stairways.
Section...
Interior...
The Ziggurat of
ziggurats
Dur-Kurigalzu
The Ziggurat of
Dur-Kurigalzu (1915).

 Dur-Kurigalzu  was a city in southern Mesopotamia near the

confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers about 30 kilometres
(19 mi) west of the centre of Baghdad.
 It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I, some
time in the 14th century BC, and was abandoned after the fall of the
Kassite dynasty.
 The city contained a ziggurat and temples dedicated to Sumerian
 gods, as well as a royal palace. The ziggurat was unusually well-
preserved, standing to a height of about 170 feet (52 m).
 `
Location Baghdad
Governorate, 
Iraq
Region Mesopotamia

Area 225 ha (560

acres)
Site notes
Excavation  1942–1945
dates
 HISTORY
 The town of Dur Kurigalzu was founded by the Kassite King Kurigalzu I in the late
15th or early 14th century BC and is situated along an east-west-trending limestone
ridge between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
 This site had access to fresh water from the Euphrates by means of the Isa Canal,
known as the Patti-Enlil Canal in ancient times.
 The city functioned as the capital of Babylonia during the reign of Kurigalzu, and
either as the capital or at least an important city during the period after.
 It was occupied continuously until the fall of the Kassite Dynasty in the 12th
century BC, when it was largely abandoned.
 The temple area, at least, was known to be active in the 7th century BC and in the 
Neo-Babylonian period. Up until recently (mostly between the 9th and 14th
centuries AD), there have been smaller occupations at parts of Aqar Quf, with areas
of the site being used for burials and for Arab settlement.
ABOUT ZIGGURAT...
 The Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu was built in the 14th century BC (
short chronology) by the Kassite king Kurigalzu. 
 The core of the structure consists of sun-dried square bricks. The
reed mats are actually every 7 layers of brick, as stated, used for
drainage and to assist in holding the bricks together by providing a
continuous layer of support.
 The outer layers of the ziggurat are made from fired bricks. An
inscription on one of the fired bricks states that it was laid during
the reign of King Kurigalzu II
 The site has been one of the favourite places where Baghdadi
families have gone to picnic on Fridays, even before it was
excavated.
Current status
 Aqar Quf is currently suffering environmental damage and
urban encroachment.
 Natural factors like rain and standing groundwater have
contributed to the erosion of the ziggurat and damage to
the ruins, especially along the south-west side.
 Currently there is encroachment of modern construction
along some stretches of the enclosure wall.
 There is also agricultural encroachment along the
enclosure wall, especially on the south-west side.
The End...
a presentation by,

BILAL
BIBIN
SHANOOB
FARIS