<P> Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular , oval , or square platform , the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure . Sun - baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside . The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance . Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks . The number of tiers ranged from two to seven , with a shrine or temple at the summit . Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit . It has been suggested that ziggurats were built to resemble mountains , but there is little textual or archaeological evidence to support that hypothesis . </P>
<P> Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular , oval , or square platform , the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure . Sun - baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside . The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance . Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks . The number of tiers ranged from two to seven , with a shrine or temple at the summit . Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit . It has been suggested that ziggurats were built to resemble mountains , but there is little textual or archaeological evidence to support that hypothesis . </P>
an artificial mountain with a temple on top in mesopotamia
an artificial mountain with a temple on top in mesopotamia
ziggurat
ziggurat