l staircases, having on the summit, the
pavilion of the god; this is the "terraced tower" which excited the
admiration of the Greeks at Babylon, and of which the temple of Bel was
the most remarkable example. The ruins of it still exist, but it has
been so frequently and so completely restored in the course of ages,
that it is impossible to say how much now remains of the original
construction. We know of several examples, however, of the other type
of ziggurat--one at Uru, another at Bridu, a third at Uruk, without
mentioning those which have not as yet been methodically explored. None
of them rises directly from the surface of the ground, but they are all
built on a raised platform, which consequently places the foundations of
the temple nearly on a level with the roofs of the surrounding houses.
The raised platform of the temple of Nannar at Uru still measures 20
feet in height, and its four angles are orientated exactly to the four
cardinal points. Its facade was approached by an inclined plane, or by
a flight of low steps, and the summit, which was surrounded by a low
balustrade, was paved with enormous burnt bricks. On this terrace,
processions at solemn festivals would have ample space to perform their
evolutions. The lower story of the temple occupies a parallelogram of
198 feet in length by 173 feet in width, and rises about 27 feet in
height.

* Perrot-Ohipiez admit that between the first and second
story there was a sort of plinth seven feet in height which
corresponded to the foundation platform below the first
story. It appears to me, as it did to Loftus, that the slope
which now separates the two vertical masses of brickwork "is
accidental, and owes its existence to the destruction of the
upper portion of the second story." Taylor mentions only two
stories, and evidently considers the slope in question to be
a bank of rubbish.

** Perrot-Chipiez place the staircase leading from the
ground-level to the terrace inside the building--"an
arrangement which would have the advantage of not
interfering with the outline of this immense platform, and
would not detract from the strength and solidity of its
appearance;" Reber proposes a different combination. At Uru,
the whole staircase projects in front of the platform and
"loads up to the edge of the basement of the second story,"
then continues as an inclined plane from the