mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== [INLINE] [INLINE] Ziggurats were a form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The earliest examples date from the end of the third millenium BC, the latest from the 6th century. BC 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. Similar structures were built by the Mayan people of Central America. - Encyclopedia.com _________________________________________________________________ Ziggurats were temple-towers used in Mesopotamian religions, being the foremost religious edifice. They were the pyramidal mounds of the [1]Mesopotamians the civilization that supposedly spanned from a timeline prior to the ancient [2]Egyptians and their great pyramid monuments. All were built with specific places aligned to the heavens and based on the geometry of the land and grid points of energy on planet Earth. The Egyptian built Step Pyramids resembling ziggurats. The ziggurat told of humanity's connection to the gods above who would one day return. Their flat tops suggest possible future landing areas for space craft or a place for ritual as one reached the top - the end of the sacred journey in the physical world. [INLINE] While the building of the many of the pyramids of Egypt remains an enigma - we do not have the same problem with the ziggurats. Where the pyramids were built from enormous stones that often had to be transported for long distances, the ziggurats were built from small mud bricks that was locally produced. Their facades were made from glazed brick. The base was either square or rectangular, and the most common size for it was either 50x50 or 40x50 metres. From the base, new steps were added, until the ziggurat was topped by a small sanctuary. All walls were sloping, and all horizontal lines were slightly convex, in order to make them less rigid when seen by the human eye. It is believed that the sloping walls were covered with trees and shrubs. Ascent to the top was either by a triple stairway or by a spiral ramp. The spiral represents the movement of conscousness from level to level - in a spiraling fashion - [3]Phi Ratio. But for half of the existing ziggurats, there are no visible means of ascent. In most cases the stairs - representing ascension to the heavens - the gods - the higher frequencies of light and sacred knowledge - are a means to reach the top. Ziggurats are sometimes represented in legends about the[4] Ark of the Convenant, and in the Tabinacle on the alters in Christian churches which all are said to house the Divine source of Light and energy and be a "living" connection to God. There are about 25 remaining today, covering the area from southern Babylonia all the way north to Assyria. The best preserved is the ziggurat of Nanna at Ur (today Iraq), while the largest is found at Chonga Zanbil in Elam (today Iran). The latter of these is believed to have been nearly 50 metres high, but only half of that height remains today. Theories about the Ziggurats: All three theories have truth to them. Theory One - the ziggurat was probably not the place of public worship or ceremonies, but rather the house of God. Through the ziggurat, the gods could be close to mankind. The cults performed in the ziggurats were limited to the priests, and their assignments were to provide for all the needs of the gods. There are several ideas about the symbolic meaning behind the ziggurats. One is that they were reconstructions of the mountain temples that the new inhabitants to Mesopotamia used to erect while they lived in either the Taurus (now Turkey) or the Zagros Mountains (now Iran). Theory Two - the ziggurat was a reconstruction of the cosmic mountain from the creation myths. Theory Three - the ziggurat was built as a bridge between heaven and earth. The Sumerian temple was a cosmic axis, a vertical bond between heaven and Earth and the Earth and the underworld and a horizontal bond between the lands. It is built on seven levels, it represents seven heavens and planes of existence, the seven planets and the seven metals that are associated with them along with the corresponding colors - as if energy centers or [5]Chakras. In one of the local myths we hear about how King Gudea of Lagash was given the assignment to erect a ziggurat by the god Ningirsu who appeared to him in a dream. Ningirsu even presented to Gudea how the ziggurat should look like. He was likely the same Egyptian God Thoth and the Greek divine craftsman Hepahaestus who built the temple-abode of Zeus. For Ninurta's temple at Lagash - Gudea was given elaborate and continuous instructions by the gods. He built a seven-tier ziggurat, named Eninnu, referring to a ingenious tablet which gave a plan view and 7 scales one for each tier. The initiation of the completed temple was a great celebration oiften lasting several days. There was a holy wedding between two of the gods, and plenty of offers to the greatest gods. [INLINE] Mesopotamian Ziggurat at Ur, c. 2100 B.C. [INLINE] _________________________________________________________________ Archaeologists dig up some of Nebuchadnezzar's legacy [INLINE] [INLINE] Boraippa, Iraq -December 3, 1998 - Yahoo News After 20 years of digging, Austrian archaeologists say they have determined the design of a Mesopotamian ziggurat - a temple tower - built by King Nebuchadnezzar some 2,500 years ago. The temple tower consisted of seven terraces built of millions of mud bricks and rose 231 feet, the scientists say. It probably was similar to the many ziggurats built by Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler who ordered the destruction of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem, they add. The temple of Borsippa, 75 miles south of Baghdad, was constructed atop the ruins of a smaller tower from the second millennium B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's temple was dedicated to Nabu, the god of science and learning in Mesopotamia and the king's protector. Wilfrid Allinger-Csollich of the University of Innsbruck said that of all the temple towers built during the Nebuchadnezzar's 40-year reign, the Borsippa ziggurat has best survived the ravages of time. The Austrians removed thousands of tons of debris from the mound that gradually built up around the tower over the ages and uncovered most of the ziggurat's remains, which still rise to 172 feet. The work revealed the tower's exact dimensions, Allinger-Csollich said. "We did not use high-tech, but rudimentary means. We just counted the number of bricks," he said. The square bricks used by Nebuchadnezzar had standard dimensions -- 13 1/4 inches on each side and 3 1/4 inches in depth. The Austrians used mechanical shovels to reach the foundation, which they measured at 297 by 297 feet. More than 1 million fired bricks were used for the first level's 3.3-foot-tall outer wall, Allinger-Csollich said. Given the Borsippa tower's height of 231 feet, "you can imagine how many more millions (of bricks) were needed in the construction of the outer walls of other stages," he said. The builders filled the inside of each level with tens of millions of unfired bricks held in place with cedar beams brought from Lebanon. The Austrians determined the tower had three staircases and are in the process of calculating how many steps each had. Their picture of the temple's exterior is almost complete. The first two levels were covered with bitumen and were black. The third, fourth and fifth were decorated with blue-glazed bricks and possibly adorned with bulls and lions. The sixth and seventh terraces, close to the sanctuary, were wholly made of mud brick. "For cultic purposes the Mesopotamians thought mud to be the purest of substances," said Helga Trenkwalder, leader of the seven-member Austrian team. "On top was Nabu's residence with rooms for servants and priests and wings for his wife, Tachmitum, his children and daughters. It must have looked really fantastic." Trenkwalder said Borsippa, being the residence of Nabu, was the center of learning in Mesopotamia. "There must have been a big library of cuneiform tablets here, but we have missed it so far," she said. Among her finds are several tablets and a foundation stone with inscriptions detailing why and how Nebuchadnezzar constructed the tower in Borsippa. One text says the king wanted the Borsippa built on the same design as that of the Tower of Babel, of which only the foundation survives in Babylon seven miles to the north. Another text quotes Nebuchadnezzar as declaring that Nabu's tower should reach the skies and be no less in grandeur than that of Babel, which was dedicated to the god Marduk. Allinger-Csollich said the team's evidence from texts and excavations show a tower of "greater dimensions than ours existed in Babylon." Iraq has another impressive ziggurat in Ur, which was built in about 2500 B.C. But Nawal al-Mutawali of the Iraq Museum said Borsippa's remains are "greater, higher and more elegant." Dony Youkhanna, assistant director of Iraq's Antiquities Department, said the government is trying to persuade the United Nations to declare Borsippa a world heritage site in order to give it international protection. __________________________________________________________________________ [6][LINK] PYRAMIDS AND MOUNDS ON PLANET EARTH [7]SACRED PLACES AND TEACHINGS INDEX [8]ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS [9]ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES [10]CRYSTALINKS MAIN PAGE References 1. http://www.crystalinks.com/meso.html 2. http://www.crystalinks.com/egypt.html 3. http://www.crystalinks.com/sg.html 4. http://www.crystalinks.com/ark.html 5. http://www.crystalinks.com/chakras.html 6. http://www.crystalinks.com/pyramids.html 7. http://www.crystalinks.com/sacred.html 8. http://www.crystalinks.com/ancient.html 9. http://www.crystalinks.com/directory2.html 10. http://www.crystalinks.com/index.html