Chogha Zanbil: Huge Ancient Still Existing Ziggurat Dedicated To God Inshushinak

Angela Sutherland - AncientPages.com - In the local dialect, the Chogha (also known as Tchogha) means abnormal hills, and “Zanbil” means the basket, and since this site was in the form of a reverse basket before drilling, they called it Chogha Zanbil. It was also referred to as the trash hill

The structure is an ancient still existing ziggurat located in the province of Khuzestan in Iran. This impressive structure, estimated to be about 3,000-years-old belonged to the Elam civilization that ruled 3500 BC.

The building materials in Chogha Zanbil are mainly mud bricks and occasionally baked bricks.

Chogha Zanbil constitutes the remains of Dur Untash City (or the City of Untash, in Elamite), and it is situated not far from the city of Susa, dated back to 4000 BC. The city was under the reign of the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek Empires.

There was once a large architectural complex that included a huge stepped pyramid-like temple (ziggurat) dedicated to the Sumerian god Inshushinak, one of the major gods of the Elamites and the guardian deity of Susa.

Some scholars speculate, based on a large number of temples and sanctuaries at Chogha Zanbil, that Untash-Napirisha attempted to create a new religious center (possibly intended to replace Susa) that would unite the gods of both highland and lowland Elam at one site.

Kneeling Bull holding spouted vessel, Proto-Elamite; Susa, Iran; Around 3100-2850 BCE. Image credit: iranchamber.com

The entire complex consists of the magnificent Chogha Zanbil ziggurat (the largest structure of its kind in Iran, originally 53 meters high),  13 temple buildings, of which only four are well preserved, and three palaces.

The ziggurat’s irregularly shaped outer wall extends approximately 3,900 by 2,600 feet (1,200 by 800 meters) around the inner sanctum. The square base of the ziggurat, 344 feet (105 meters) on each side, was built mainly of brick and cement. It now stands 80 feet (24 meters) high, less than half its estimated original height. Thousands of bricks that were never used and only left at one side are the reason for believing that the king had construction plans to build 22 temples but unfortunately, he was not able to finish his project.

For a long time, the place was unknown to the outside world, but finally, the ziggurat was accidentally discovered in 1935 by British Petroleum during an oil searching project.

First known archaeological studies of the site were conducted in the late 1930s. Later, between 1946 and 1962 excavations were carried out by the archaeologist Roman Ghirshman.

The monuments were decorated with glazed baked bricks, gypsum, and ornaments of faïence and glass. The ziggurat was once topped with a temple, and some of the bricks had Elamite cuneiform inscriptions on them and inscribed by hand. What distinguishes Ziggurat Dur Untash from other ziggurats in Mesopotamia is that in them, the upper floors were built on the lower floors.

The central ritual section of the ziggurat had 7 portals and there were 7 sacrificial places in front of the southeastern staircase. In one of the palace ruins, archaeologists found five underground tombs with precious items and the remains of four cremated bodies. The Elamites traditionally buried their dead, and the reason for the cremation is unknown. Glazed terracotta statues depicting bulls and winged griffins guarded the entrances to the ziggurat.

The ancient artifacts unearthed at the site include several bull sculptures of Inshushinak and a collection of Middle Elamite cylinder seals.

The ziggurat is considered to be the best-preserved example in the world. In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Written by A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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