Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Choqa Zanbil

Location

Khuzestan

Country

Iran

Year of Research

1250 BC

Culture

Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1951 and 1962 revealed the site again, and the ziggurat is declared to be the good conserved example in the world.

In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It is one of the few extant ziggurats outside of the Mesopotamia. It is lies an approximately 25 kilometeres west Dezfoul, 45 kilometres south of the Susa and 230 kilometres north of Abadan by way of Ahvaz, which is 120 kilometres away.

It was constructed about 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honor the great god Inshushinak. Its real name was Dur Untash, which means town of Untash , but it is unlikely that many people, besides priests and servants, ever lived there.

The complex is saved by three concentric walls which define the main areas of the town . The inner area is wholly taken up with a great ziggurat dedicated to the main god, which was constructed over an earlier square temple with storage rooms also constructed by Untash Napirisha.

Although construction in the city abruptly finished after Untash Napirishas death, the place was not abandoned, but continued to be occupied until it was destructed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in 640 BCE.