Course: ARC 2031.

02 - Amundson
Assignment: Midterm Project - Vernacular Architecture in its Social & Ecological Contexts
Title: Sumerian Architecture, Culture and Typology: Ziggurats
Student: Ryan Munsey
Date Due: 10/12/2021

As one of the oldest civilizations of humanity, the Sumerians developed the first urbanized

culture with innovations in language, governance, and architecture. With the establishment of localized

technologies based upon the region's environment and climate, the design and construction of ziggurats

provided Sumerians both spiritual and physical nourishment as the basis for their urban settlements that

laid the foundation of future modern cities.

The Sumerian culture rooted the earliest civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in

the southernmost part of Mesopotamia, commonly known as the Fertile Crescent. Today, the region

consists of southern Iraq from the city of Baghdad to the Persian Gulf, including the country of Kuwait.

The ecology of the region has remained almost

unchanged since 8,000 B.C.E. with its landscape

being flat and marshy, and its terrain primarily

consisting of sand and silt. The

area climate is arid, generally less than 15 inches

of rain per year, with short tempered winters and extremely hot summers averaging above 110 degrees

Fahrenheit creating a sparseness of natural vegetation. In the early spring seasons, the rivers annually

overflow their banks, usually violently and destructively, yet ironically causing the fertile grounds for the

development of farmed and irrigated agriculture.

As nomadic life of hunting and gathering gave way to farming domesticated settlements, the

human population increased resulting in development of the Sumerian culture including language for

communication among the masses, governance of the masses through religion, and architecture to

provide the masses structures for housing and worship. Sumer was divided into many settlements

similar to independent city-states, divided by canals and boundary stones, with each city centered on a

Page 1 of 5
Course: ARC 2031.02 - Amundson
Assignment: Midterm Project - Vernacular Architecture in its Social & Ecological Contexts
Title: Sumerian Architecture, Culture and Typology: Ziggurats
Student: Ryan Munsey
Date Due: 10/12/2021

temple structure dedicated to the patron god or goddess of the city, which was governed by a priest or

governor, or by a king who was intimately tied to the religious rites. These large city-centered temple

structures were called ziggurats. Ziggurats were not just a religious symbol, each were designed and

built for many purposes; it was basically the center of the city life functioning as a city hall.

The significance of ziggurats was not necessarily in its design and appearance, but in its function

and the cultural values it reflected of the Sumerians. Sumerian architecture had a practical purpose and

role that all civilizations since continue to use, which

is to create architecture in a meaningful way to

develop a sense of community. Each city built its

own ziggurat to please the gods, act as an

education center for scribal schools, including

astronomy, math, and science, provide shelter for

Axonometric of Neo-Sumerian Great Ziggurat of Ur

its citizens from floods or invaders, and to demonstrate its power and riches. The Sumerians regarded

“the craft of building” as a divine gift taught to men by the gods, which allowed architecture to flourish

in the region and which later civilizations emulated and improved.

The ziggurats design began as a platform typically oval, rectangular, or square at the base then

with a flat top and sloping or stepped pyramid sides. The flat top serves as the temple which was

dedicated to the individual city-state god or goddess. The height varied among the structures, yet the

reason was based upon the belief that the closer the building was to the sky, the closer it was to the

heavens; thus, closer to the gods. Sumerian priests believed that the ziggurat provided a centralized place

to platform the influences of the gods upon the community. All around the sides of the structure were

massive staircases or ramps to give better access to the gods that lived in the sky. Each temple had stairs

or ramps that led to the flat top terrace, which only were ascended by the priests or the king, because

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Course: ARC 2031.02 - Amundson
Assignment: Midterm Project - Vernacular Architecture in its Social & Ecological Contexts
Title: Sumerian Architecture, Culture and Typology: Ziggurats
Student: Ryan Munsey
Date Due: 10/12/2021

this was the location of the alter temple for worship, offerings, and sacrifices. The sides of the ziggurat

were very broad and sloping but broken up by recessed stripes or bands from top to bottom that made

a pattern in morning or afternoon sunlight.

2000-540 BC | Floor plan and axonometric drawing of Ziggurat at Chogha Zanbil (1300 BC), Iran

A lack of stone and hardwood trees in the region made mudbricks the primary construction

material for ziggurats. Mudbricks were created by taking clay from the riverbank and mix it with water

and straw or riverweed, pouring the mixture into molds shaped like bricks. The development and use of

this building material were based on the only readily available natural resources of the area. The core of

the ziggurats remained solid yet damp; therefore, usually had no internal rooms. However, for the

exterior walls, steps, and slopes, the man-made mudbricks still comprised the foundation of the

construction, but the mudbricks were baked in the sun to protect the core from the elements. Some of

these sun-backed mudbricks covering the exterior were glazed in different colors for decorative

significance to honor the dedicated god or goddess.

Page 3 of 5
Course: ARC 2031.02 - Amundson
Assignment: Midterm Project - Vernacular Architecture in its Social & Ecological Contexts
Title: Sumerian Architecture, Culture and Typology: Ziggurats
Student: Ryan Munsey
Date Due: 10/12/2021

The sloping sides of the ziggurats gave the appearance of wider-based pyramid shape by

designing each step slightly smaller than the level below it.

Additionally, on the sloping sides of ziggurats terraces were

often built to include landscaping. The greenery, shrubs, and

flowers enhanced the awe of the structure. Improvements to

the landscaping advanced through the centuries and

Unknown artist rendering of the fabled
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
civilizations to reflect the beauty of the gods, which is

depicted today as the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The lower base of the ziggurats, many of which have survived over centuries of time, include

amazing details of architectural engineering and design elements to account for the natural

environment. For example, the unbaked mudbrick core of the ziggurats fluctuated in consistency and

structural soundness according to the dry or wet season. Therefore, architects included holes through

the baked exterior layer of the temple allowing water to evaporate from its core. Additionally, drains

were built into the terraces along the slopes and steps to help drain the rain. The height of the ziggurat

may have also been useful during seasonal flooding.

While the mudbricks were effective for building purposes, they were not durable with the

foundations deteriorating due to the environmental elements. Therefore, ziggurats were routinely

reconstructed on the existing foundations ultimately causing cities to become increasingly elevated over

time. In this example, it is shown that the negative circumstances caused an unintended benefit

resulting in protection of the citizens and future structures for flooding by adapting techniques for use in

accordance with the environmental and climatic conditions.

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Course: ARC 2031.02 - Amundson
Assignment: Midterm Project - Vernacular Architecture in its Social & Ecological Contexts
Title: Sumerian Architecture, Culture and Typology: Ziggurats
Student: Ryan Munsey
Date Due: 10/12/2021

Ziggurats are not only significant to demonstrate the Sumerian skills in planning urban

settlements for civilized advancement but validates the rational and technical adaptability with respect

to the region’s environment and climate as essential in the development of the Sumerian culture and

architecture that laid the foundation of future modern urban settlements.

Bibliography

“Sumer.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. Accessed October 10, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Sumer.

“Life in Sumer.” ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Accessed October 10, 2021.
https://www.ushistory.org/civ/4a.asp.

Brenner, Laurie. Two Examples of How the Nile Shaped Ancient Egypt last modified October
11, 2021. https://sciencing.com/two-examples-nile-shaped-ancient-egypt-23045.html

German., Dr. Senta. “White Temple and Ziggurat, Uruk (Article).” Khan Academy. Khan
Academy. Accessed October 11, 2021. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-
history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/ancient-near-east-a/a/white-temple-and-ziggurat-uruk.

“What Was the Importance of Ziggurats in Ancient Mesopotamia.” What Was the Importance of
Ziggurats in Ancient Mesopotamia - DailyHistory.org. Accessed October 12, 2021.
https://dailyhistory.org/What_Was_the_Importance_of_Ziggurats_in_Ancient_Mesopotam
ia.

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