Mesopotamia, located in the fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was one of the cradles of civilization around 6000 years ago and the birthplace of the first writing system. Each ...

A few minutes later, they stood at the foot of the 4,100-year-old ziggurat, or temple tower ... "Okay, who knows the history?" Once posed, the question drew an assortment of answers, all different.

The excavated complex was discovered to be one of the few ziggurats built outside Mesopotamia. The ruins of the ancient Elamite city of Dur Untashi at the site now known as Chogha Zanbil ...

Located about 200 miles south of the capital Baghdad, the site is made up of a pyramid-style ziggurat and a residential complex. It was excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, a Briton who ...