Chogha Zanbil — ziggurat
Dur-Untash · Khuzestan, Iran · Elam, c. 1250 BCE (13th century BCE); the city was sacked by the Assyrians c. 645 BCE
The largest ziggurat outside Mesopotamia and the best preserved. A square of about 105 m, internal staircases, stamped bricks. A UNESCO site. The Elamite "core + shells" construction.
Dossier
- Type: Elamite
- Ancient city: Dur-Untash
- Modern location: Khuzestan, Iran
- Deity: Inshushinak and Napirisha
- Dating: Elam, c. 1250 BCE (13th century BCE); the city was sacked by the Assyrians c. 645 BCE
- Builders: Untash-Napirisha, king of Elam (c. 14th–13th centuries BCE)
- Material: Mud brick; baked-brick facing (some of the bricks bear cuneiform inscriptions); bitumen was used
- Plan: Square base, roughly 105 × 105 m; five tiers narrowing towards the top and crowned by a temple; ascent by staircases, some of them internal
- Base: 105 × 105 m
- Height (originally): about 53 m
- Height (surviving): about 24.8 m
- Tiers: 5
- Survived: yes, the ruins can be visited
What matters
The base of Chogha Zanbil is about 105 × 105 m; according to the excavations, there were five tiers. The original height (about 53 m) is an estimate: the upper tiers together with the temple are lost, and today the ziggurat rises to roughly 25 m — less than half of the original survives.