Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension
Late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE)·Elamite·🇮🇷 Khuzestan, Haft Tappeh, Iran
About
About Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension
Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension in Khuzestan, Haft Tappeh, Iran is a Late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE) temple complex attributed to Elamite. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal citadel 7 × 3 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 32.0143N 48.5232E controls access to Khuzestan, Haft Tappeh resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey temple-complex for Khuzestan, Haft Tappeh, illustrating Elamite construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Nature of burial rites and population
- 02Landscape function
Theories
- 01Ancestral burial reuse over centuries
- 02Astronomical alignment hypothesis
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1250 BCE
- Period
- Late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE)
- Culture
- Elamite
- Purpose
- Ceremonial centre and pilgrimage focus with stratified deposits
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 1250 BCE
Initial construction of Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension main structure
c. 1361 BCE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension
19th–20th century
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0143° N · 48.5232° E · 37 m · 3 mapped features
Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension — Main Temple-Complex Feature
enclosurePrimary enclosure at Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension — burial gallery with stratified deposits
32.0162° N · 48.5250° EChogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension — Secondary Enclosure
rock artAncillary rock art at Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension — central chambered cairn with stratified deposits
32.0153° N · 48.5242° EChogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension — Outlier Rock Art Panel
hydraulicOutlier hydraulic panel linked to Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat Outer Court Annex — Southern Extension ceremonial landscape
32.0155° N · 48.5217° E