Ancient Babylonia - Ziggurat
Form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The
earliest examples date from the end of the 3d millenium B.C., the latest from the 6th
cent. B.C. The ziggurat was a pyramidal structure, built in receding tiers
upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, with a shrine at the summit. The
core of the ziggurat was of sun-baked bricks, and the facings were of fired
bricks, often glazed in different colors, which are thought to have had cosmological
significance. Access to the summit shrine was provided by a series of ramps on
one side or by a continuous spiral ramp from base to summit. The number of
tiers ranged from two to seven. Notable examples are the ruins at Ur and Khorsabad
in Mesopotamia. The Mayan people of Central America built similar structures.
Also see The Ziggurats
Ancient Babylonia
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