Hanging Gardens of Babylon (claimed sites)
Gardens of Semiramis · Hanging Gardens of Nineveh hypothesis · Musayib Garden Theory
Neo-Babylonian claimed 600 BCE; Assyrian alternative 700 BCE·Babylonian or Assyrian (Neo-Assyrian Sennacherib)·🇮🇶 Babylon Governorate, Iraq
About
About Hanging Gardens of Babylon (claimed sites)
Canonical Wonder attributed to Nebuchadnezzar II for wife Amytis (600 BCE) – terraced gardens with Archimedean screw irrigation described by Berossus and Strabo; no Babylon excavation found definitive terraces. Stephanie Dalley controversially relocates to Sennacherib's Nineveh (c.700 BCE, 60km Gardens with Ubanu screw) with cuneiform 'wonder garden' tablet; Babylon moussaib attempt debated; hypothetical status.
Why it mattersMost elusive wonder; methodological case study in reliance on Greek secondary sources without archaeology
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Nineveh vs Babylon location 100 km disparity
- 02Existence vs Greek conflation of Assyrian capital
Theories
- 01Dalley stratigraphic translation of Prism vs mainstream rejection
- 02Greek memory of Near Eastern garden conflating Egyptian wadi
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 600 BCE alleged Nebuchadnezzar; 700 BCE Sennacherib if Nineveh thesis
- Period
- Neo-Babylonian claimed 600 BCE; Assyrian alternative 700 BCE
- Culture
- Babylonian or Assyrian (Neo-Assyrian Sennacherib)
- Purpose
- Royal pleasure garden and imperial wonder; agricultural demonstration
- Excavation
- Excavated
600 BCE
Nebuchadnezzar reign claim
700 BCE
Sennacherib built vast garden at Nineveh (Dalley thesis)
1899
Koldewey excavates Babylon finds no gardens
On the ground
Structures & features
32.5425° N · 44.4211° E · 35 m · 3 mapped features
South Palace Babylon (claimed perch)
palace terraceKoldewey's vaulted building maybe perfume workshop, claimed garden by some
32.5425° N · 44.4211° ENineveh Sennacherib Garden (Dalley claim)
garden terraceKhosr river terraces with bronze screw fragments depiction
36.3597° N · 43.1527° EUniversal Museum (Bas relief of screw)
museum artifactLakish-era Nineveh relief showing Archimedean screw lifting water
32.5400° N · 44.4200° E
Gallery