Anu Ziggurat, Ancient temple platform in Uruk, Iraq
The Anu Ziggurat is a rectangular mud-brick structure with a base of roughly 45 by 50 meters and rises about 12 meters above the surrounding Mesopotamian plain. Its heavy walls were built in stages and once supported the White Temple on top.
The structure originated during the fourth millennium BCE and underwent ten distinct building phases over time. The White Temple crowning its summit was constructed between approximately 3500 and 3400 BCE.
This temple was dedicated to the sky god Anu and served as a religious focal point for the city below. Priests performed rituals inside the White Temple at the summit.
This site sits within the larger Uruk archaeological area and is best viewed by walking around the structure from the exterior. Visitors should come prepared for uneven ground since many sections remain only partially rebuilt.
Inside the White Temple, archaeologists found nineteen clay tablets recording temple accounts and administrative details. These records lay alongside deposits of leopard and lion bones, whose religious significance remains unclear.
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