Ziggurat of Ur - Jamie Banks

Ziggurat at Ur

General Discussion
The Ziggurat at Ur is the most well preserved ziggurat. It was built back in the time of the Sumerians around 1700 BC . It is said to be the biggest and most beautiful ziggurat built, and because of its well preservation most of it is still standing today. Because of its size and popularity, the ziggurat at Ur is often referred to as The Great Ziggurat at Ur. The site of the Great Ziggurat was excavated by J. E. Taylor and is approximately 210 by 150 feet .

Architectural Design
A ziggurat is usually square or rectangle, and the Ziggurat at Ur is comprised of smaller platforms placed near or on top of one another. It contains a court, a secondary court, and three great temples, all on a large rectangular platform. At the top of the structure stands a building that was once a temple . The building is made of mud-brick covered by “a thick skin of burnt-brick for protection” . One could get to the actual ziggurat by stairways that were located either on ramps on one side or a spiral ramp from the base . Interestingly the corners of the structure pointed North, East, South, and West , possibly signifying an importance of location to the Sumerians. Even though the ziggurat was constructed around 1700 BC, it was not finished until the 21st century BC by King Shulgi .

Harmony with Nature and Symbolism and Sacred Objects
These two subtexts go hand in hand with the Ziggurat at Ur. According to Dr. Richard Ingersoll from Rice University, the Ziggurat at Ur “recreated a tangible vision of the cosmological order” . He also states that the Great Ziggurat at Ur established the center of the world, or the “axis mundi” to the hill people and that the Ziggurat gave a “necessary link between heaven and earth that will ensure that fertility and prosperity continues”. This is significant with the Ziggurat at Ur because of its location. It is located in the center of a desert, so its grand size is emphasized due to this adding the interpretation of the building at the center of the world and the high place of worship.


How it is used by Worshipers
The Ziggurat at Ur was remodeled by Urnammu, to worship Nannar, the moon god. Only priests were allowed in the ziggurat temples, and they were thought to be in connection with the god of the temple. In the case of the Ziggurat at Ur, the priest would connect to the moon god, Nannar. Here the priest would attend to the needs of the gods and worship them. Because of this the rooms of the ziggurat were made for the priests, such as the sacred workshops, granaries, storehouses, kitchens, and special rooms. For the people of the land, the Ziggurat was used as a place to get closer to the heavens to worship. Because of its great height, it gave the people access to the city god.
The Ziggurat at Ur was an important building in the city of Ur. It helped end the first depression of Ur. It gave the people of Ur a place of hierarchy, in which the proximity to the center is relative to the social hierarchy, in the order of kings, high priest, soldiers, artisans, and then slaves . The construction was set at the center of a walled city, also signifying its importance to the community. Because of this, the building must have been the center and the main focus of the city.