Monumental Architecture

Ziggurats 

Ziggurats were amazing structures that were constructed in ancient Mesopotamia.These impressive buildings consisted of multiple terraced levels that gradually receded and were primarily made of mud-brick. They were recognized by their distinct square or rectangular bases and sloping walls. Ziggurats were part of a temple complex, a set of buildings devoted to the businesses of the temple. A series of chambers and rooms within the ziggurat were used for priests to care for the god or goddess.  

The Ziggurat of Ur, a massive stepped pyramid about 210 by 150 feet. It consists of a series of successively smaller platforms that reached to a height of about 64 feet and was constructed with a solid core of mud-brick covered by burnt bricks, thick skin to protect it from the elements. Its corners are oriented to the compass points. (CZ)

Hanging Gardens

The king of  Neo Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar, married a woman named Amytis. Amytis was homesick of the Media valleys and green hills after moving to the cities. Nebuchadnezzar felt so bad for his dear wife and decided he had to do something about the situation. He then spent hours, and days, and nights, and weeks building for his wife. Once this masterpiece was finished Nebuchadnezzar showed his wife. This beautiful piece of architecture was filled from top to bottom with greenery. This was how it got the name of "The Hanging Garden".  Amytis was thrilled to finally feel at home again. Then they both lived happily for evermore.

The Hanging Gardens were tiered 400 feet long and 400 feet wide! Each wall was 80 feet long and there were 5 tiers! About those 5 tiers varied trees, shrubs, flowers, and vines that resembled the mountains in which Nebuchadnezzar and Amytis had lived in.

The Hanging Garden can be found in Babylon. This beautiful creation lasted a long beautiful life from 600 BC until 226 BC when it was destroyed by a massive earthquake. Now in that location lays dead ruins of what once was life. The hanging gardens had an amazing and romantic back story! (TV)

Royal Tombs of Ur

 Around the 1920's The Royal Tombs of Ur were discovered by Leonard Woolley. The Royal Tombs of UR is a Sumerian burial site of around 2,000 graves located in the ancient city of Ur. 

Leonard Woolley began his excavations of the Royal Cemetery of Ur. Out of these graves the majority of them were simple pits, in which a body in a clay coffin or wrapped in reed was laid. Woolley also discovered 16 graves that stood out in these laid the royals. In these graves, they were not buried in pits, but in stone tombs, each of these tombs contained a chamber of limestone rubble with a vaulted roof of mud bricks. The main burial of the tomb was placed in this chamber and surrounded by treasure.

In conclusion the Royal Tombs are important because they helped us pecice some of history I learned many things about the Royal tombs such as the people who discovered them and how loyal their servants where all of what I learned very interesting, most of which I did not know before. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this passage.   (CB)

These are some of the tombs Leonard Woolley discovered.

Homes

Mud Brick City Homes

The average city home in Mesopotamia was a small one or two story structure made of mud-brick. It contained several rooms grouped around a courtyard. The ground floor in two-story houses usually consisted of a reception room, kitchen, and toilet, and servant’s quarters. Under the floor of the house, there was sometimes a family mausoleum where the dead family members were buried. The balcony was made in such a way that one could lead to the courtyard. They built their windows up high so the heat cannot get inside the homes. But natural resources  were always the main material for Mesopotamian homes. The reason for using mud-brick as a main resource is because they are the strongest and most reliable material. They liked to use those materials because they had easy access to the mud and reeds from the river bank. (CZ)

Straw Country Homes

The second type of home are the reed homes. Reed homes are a bit smaller and only have one main room inside the home. People tied reed bundles or stuck them into mats and set them vertically in the ground, like columns, in two parallel rows, and then their tops were tied. Everyone does everything inside that one little room like eat, sleep, have conversations, etc. All the materials they use to build these types of homes are found on the banks of the river just like the mud for mud brick homes.  (CZ)

Mesopotamian Reed Homes