Ziggurat of Susa — ziggurat
Susa · Shush, Iran · c. 19th–17th centuries BCE and later (Old Elamite period, the Sukkalmah dynasty); later restorations — Middle Elamite period, c. 12th century BCE
Capital of Elam. The temple tower of Inshushinak is known from texts and from fragments of glaze; on the ground only the mound of the acropolis remains. Chogha Zanbil largely repeats the Susian cult at a new site.
Dossier
- Type: Elamite
- Ancient city: Susa
- Modern location: Shush, Iran
- Deity: Inshushinak
- Dating: c. 19th–17th centuries BCE and later (Old Elamite period, the Sukkalmah dynasty); later restorations — Middle Elamite period, c. 12th century BCE
- Builders: rulers of the Old Elamite period (the Sukkalmah dynasty); later, Shilhak-Inshushinak (12th century BCE) — the attribution rests on inscriptions and is not confirmed by excavation
- Material: mud brick laid in clay mortar (not established with certainty); a facing of baked brick is possible in Elamite tradition
- Plan: Remains of a cult complex on the summit of the Acropolis mound; the layout of the tower itself cannot be reconstructed — according to the texts it was a temple tower (ziggurat) of Inshushinak, the supreme god of Susa.
What matters
The stepped tower of Susa itself has never been found by archaeologists: the ziggurat (the "high temple") of the god Inshushinak is known mainly from cuneiform inscriptions, and only fragments of mud-brick buildings of the Elamite period have been uncovered on the Acropolis mound. Its dimensions and appearance therefore remain a matter of reconstruction, and the popular dating "c. 1800 BCE" is only an estimate.