Choqazanbil (also Choghazanbil) is an ancient ziggurat located in Iran. It is one of Iran's four large ziggurats from the Elamite Empire period.
Chogha Zanbil is situated about 40 km southeast of the ancient city of Susa. It was built on a plateau above the banks of the river Dez . Its ancient name is Dur-Untash, which means the castle or the city of Untash. In the 13th century BC King Untash Napirisha founded this city.
The building materials in Chogha Zanbil are mainly mud and baked bricks. Thousands of baked bricks bearing inscriptions with Elamite cuneiform characters were all incscribed by hand, ornamenting the most important buildings. Glazed terracotta statues such as bulls and winged griffins guarded the entrances to the Ziggurat.
Roman Ghirshman, the same person who excavated Sialk, excavated most of this Ziggurat and the vast surrounding areas from 1951 – 1962. He excavated the temples, palaces, tombs and three concentric walls of the site with gates. After the excavations most of the monuments were exposed to erosion. Due to rainfalls, water penetrates into the structure of the building, accelerating the deterioration processes.
During last two years some necessary measures have been taken by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran to protect the Ziggurat from further erosion.
See also
Last updated: 10-15-2005 14:21:53
