We Shape Our Buildings; Thereafter They Shape Us - Winston Churchill

One of the places I would love to visit is the ancient Elamite complex of Chogha Zanbil, or Dur Untash (in Elamite language) in Khuzestan province of Iran.  Elam was an ancient pre-Iranian civilization in west and southwest of modern day Iran. It flourished from 2700 BC to 539 BC until its assimilation into the Iranian Achaemenid Empire. Elam’s capital was Susa and its states were among the leading political forces in the Ancient Near East. 

Chogha Zanbil

Reconstruction of Chogha Zanbil

Prior to the coming of the Iranian tribes of Medes and Persians (see post: Kurdistan and Kurds), Elam was highly urbanized, paralleling Sumerian and Akkadian history, consisting of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, and having written records from 3000 BC. The Elamite language was an isolate language, having no relationship to other languages and thus making interpretation of it rather difficult.

 

Elam

Map of Modern Day Iran

Elamite writing was adapted from Akkadian cuneiform and is the oldest writing system from Iran. It was used from 2500 BC to 331 BC until the rise of the Iranian Achaemenid Empire.

 

Chogha Zanbil

Chogha Zanbil

Chogha Zanbil, or Dur Untash, gets its name from two very different sources. Its original name in Elamite, Dur Untash, means “Town of Untash”. It was built in 1250 BC by King Untash-Napirisha to honor the god Inshushinak. Its Iranian name, Chogha Zanbil, means "Basket Mound" due to its resemblance to the local baskets woven in the area.

 

Local Handwoven Basket

Not many people lived in Chogha Zanbil and the few who did were either priests or servants. On the whole, the structure was very much a ziggurat, with eleven temples in the middle area for lesser gods. Made with mud bricks and baked bricks, and embellished with glazed baked bricks, gypsum, and glass in the making of the monuments inside. Elaminte cuneiform decorated the building and glazed terracotta statues of bulls and winged griffins guarded the entrance.

 

Elamite Cuneiform Decorate the Building

Chogha Zanbil

Construction of Chogha Zanbil ended with the death of King Untash-Napirisha, but it remained occupied until 640 BC when it was destroyed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Russian/Ukranian born French archeologist Roman Ghirshman had a love for ancient Iran. From 1951 to 1961, he excavated at Chogha Zanbil for a total of six seasons.