Discover Iran: Chogha Zanbil, the world’s oldest religious monument and timeless ziggurat

By Alireza Akbari

• Chogha Zanbil, in southwestern Khuzestan province, is one of the few remaining ziggurats (stepped pyramids) outside of Mesopotamia – and by far, the best preserved.
• A magnificent ancient Elamite complex built around 1250 BCE, it was recognized by UNESCO in 1979 as Iran’s first World Heritage Site.
• It offers a rare glimpse into pre-Persian civilization, long before Cyrus the Great or Darius, and shows the advanced engineering and religious beliefs of the Elamites over 3,000 years ago

Chogha Zanbil, the first Iranian site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is one of the oldest religious monuments in the country, built by the ancient Elamite civilization.

Constructed around 1250 BCE by the Elamite king Untash-Napirisha, the complex once formed the heart of a walled city called Dur-Untash. Located in southwestern Iran, near the ancient city of Susa, the site embodies the architectural and ceremonial sophistication of its time.

The name “Chogha Zanbil,” derived from Elamite and Akkadian roots, refers to a royal settlement dedicated to the king. Today, its Luri name translates to "basket-shaped hill."

The historical structure is remarkable not only for its scale and antiquity but also for its architectural design. It includes what may be one of the world’s earliest water filtration systems. Although its layered form resembles the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, its construction and layout are distinct, one reason it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Now largely in ruins, the site's architecture, inscriptions, and remaining infrastructure have helped archaeologists better understand the ceremonial and civic life of the Elamite world.

Chogha Zanbil meets two of UNESCO’s six cultural criteria for World Heritage status. It offers “exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization which has disappeared” and stands as “an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural ensemble that illustrates a significant stage in human history.”

These are known as criteria (iii) and (iv) – typically reserved for sites that have not only endured the passage of time but were also fundamentally shaped by it.

The structure sits at the heart of what was once known as the city of Dur-Untash. The name combines Dur (meaning “city”) with Untash, the name of its royal founder.

Spanning nearly 1,000 by 1,300 meters, the site is enclosed by three concentric walls made of adobe brick, each delineating a distinct zone for religious and governance functions.

At the heart of the expansive complex stands the main ziggurat, once a five-tiered stepped temple that served as the spiritual center of Dur-Untash.

Surrounding it, the second enclosure houses smaller temples and royal buildings, while the outermost ring includes subterranean tombs, additional palaces, and a remarkably advanced water purification system, one of the earliest known examples of its kind in the world.

Scholars regard Chogha Zanbil as the oldest surviving religious structure in Iran. Its ancient and original name, Ziggurat Dūr-Untash, stems from the Akkadian word ziqquratu and the older Sumerian term zaqāru, both signifying high or elevated places, structures conceived to connect the earthly and the divine.

The name Dur-Untash itself weaves together meaning and legacy: Dur translates to “place” or “settlement,” while Untash honors the Elamite king Untash-Napirisha, who commissioned the city in the 13th century BCE.

The modern name, Chogha Zanbil, is derived from the Luri language: chogha means "hill" or "mound," and zanbil means "basket," implying the historic structure’s shape and form.

Situated in the heart of southwestern Iran, in Shush County of Khuzestan Province, the complex sits near the archaeological zone of Haft Tappeh. It is located about 35 kilometers west of Shushtar and 40 kilometers southeast of Susa, the ancient capital of Elam and once the beating heart of Elamite civilization.

Dur-Untash lies west of the Dez River and falls under the jurisdiction of Shush County. It is accessible via a turnoff from the Shush–Ahvaz road, or through the Karun Agro-Industry route from Shushtar via Haft Tappeh.

At its center stands the Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, encircled by a sacred precinct. The French archaeologist Roman Ghirshman, who led excavations at the site in the mid-20th century, used the Greek term temenos to describe this consecrated space.

The entire complex spans a perimeter of nearly 1,625 meters, enclosing a square ziggurat that measures 105.2 by 105.2 meters. Unlike the cardinally aligned ziggurats of Mesopotamia, Chogha Zanbil’s ziggurat is rotated 90 degrees, creating a ceremonial courtyard of about 400 by 400 meters, which embraces the monument in measured symmetry.

Originally rising to a height of 52 meters, the Chogha Zanbil ziggurat once towered over the plains of ancient Elam, its five tiers representing a sacred ascent toward the heavens.

Though erosion and time have worn away much of its upper levels, two and a half tiers remain, standing at approximately 25 meters tall, yet its presence remains monumental.

The square base of the Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, measuring 105.2 by 105.2 meters, covers an area nearly twice the size of a standard football field.

The construction of the ziggurat unfolded in two distinct phases. Initially, the structure took the form of a large square edifice, enclosing a sunken ceremonial courtyard. Its early design resembled that of a fortified storehouse, with windowless chambers enclosing a recessed interior space.

The outer walls rose to eight meters on three sides, and up to thirteen meters on the northeast. Entrances were centered on each facade, guiding worshippers into the heart of the compound.

This subterranean courtyard, set below ground level, served key ritual and ceremonial purposes during the temple's earliest phase.

Around 1250 BCE, King Untash-Napirisha undertook a sweeping transformation. What began as a modest complex was reborn as a towering five-tiered ziggurat, a sacred mountain crafted by human hands.

Built in a stepped, pyramidal form, each tier narrowed as it ascended above. At its summit stood a small sanctuary, or kukunnu in Elamite, dedicated to Napirisha and Inshushinak, two principal deities of the Elamite pantheon.

One of the most distinctive features of Chogha Zanbil’s architecture, setting it apart from its Mesopotamian counterparts, is its unique structural system.

While Mesopotamian ziggurats were built by stacking levels directly atop one another, at Chogha Zanbil, each tier rises independently from the ground, supported by its own foundation.

Though time has worn away its upper reaches, the Chogha Zanbil ziggurat still rises with a quiet authority from the plains of Khuzestan. Its square base, measuring 105 by 105 meters, remains intact, though its once-soaring height of 53 meters has been reduced to about 25.

Unlike the tiered stacking found in Mesopotamian ziggurats, the five levels of Chogha Zanbil were uniquely constructed side by side, each rising independently from the ground.

This architectural innovation allowed for greater structural innovation. The first and fifth levels were hollow, containing chambers likely used for ritual activities or storage, while the remaining tiers were solid, composed of densely packed adobe brick.

The ziggurat’s core was built of mudbrick, while its outer walls were faced with fired bricks—some glazed, others embedded with decorative clay nails.

Discover Iran

🇮🇷 DISCOVER IRAN | CHOGHA ZANBIL ✴️ Where: Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran ✳️ What: Chogha Zanbil is a magnificent ancient Elamite complex, built around 1250 BCE. 🟪 Why it’s special: 🔹...

Many of these bricks are inscribed with Elamite cuneiform, naming King Untash-Napirisha as the builder and proclaiming the temple’s sacred purpose.

Two circular platforms rise from the northwest and southwest corners of the base. Their precise function remains uncertain, and they continue to be a topic of scholarly debate.

To the west of the main ziggurat lies one of the site’s most remarkable features: one of the earliest known water purification systems in human history. Using an array of interconnected vessels and basins, the installation ensured that water entering the sacred precinct met ritual standards of purity.

Roman Ghirshman, the French archaeologist who led its excavations in the 1950s, theorized that water was channeled from the Karkheh River, nearly 45 kilometers away, an engineering feat made necessary by the elevation barrier that rendered the nearby Dez River inaccessible.

Built between 1275 and 1240 BCE, the ziggurat of Dur-Untash was more than an architectural wonder. It was a monument to spiritual devotion. Constructed in honor of Inshushinak, the guardian deity of Susa, it embodied the Elamite king’s ambition to create a divine sanctuary unmatched in scale and sanctity.

The architectural lineage of Chogha Zanbil stretches deep into Mesopotamian antiquity. Its form—a raised, tiered sanctuary—owes much to Sumerian traditions, where temples were elevated on platforms to bring worshippers closer to the divine. Such structures became a hallmark of sacred architecture across the region.

The Ziggurat of Ur, the towering Etemenanki of Babylon, and the monumental ziggurats of Enlil, Larsa, and Dur-Sharrukin all reflect this enduring legacy.

But Dur-Untash, like many Elamite strongholds, eventually fell to the tides of war. The final blow came in 645 BCE, when Assyrian forces under Ashurbanipal sacked the city, leaving its sacred complex in ruins. For centuries, the once-majestic ziggurat slumbered beneath layers of soil and silence.

In 1890, French geologist Jacques de Morgan documented petroleum seeps in the region, a discovery that would help lay the groundwork for Iran’s future oil industry.

Half a century later, during exploratory drilling, engineers encountered a baked brick inscribed with strange markings. It bore Elamite cuneiform, and it was no ordinary artifact.

The brick was brought to archaeologists working in Susa, sparking interest and, eventually, a full-scale investigation. What they uncovered exceeded all expectations: the ruins of a massive, forgotten ziggurat, but at the same time, well-preserved despite centuries underground.

The site was first recorded in 1936 by a New Zealander known locally as Boraven, employed by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. However, it wasn’t until 1953 that systematic excavations began. Under the direction of Roman Ghirshman, a prominent French archaeologist known for his work across Iran, the secrets of Chogha Zanbil began to emerge.

Over a decade, Ghirshman and his team unearthed not only the ziggurat itself, but an entire sacred cityscape, bearing a testament to the Elamites’ architectural ingenuity, religious fervour, and enduring cultural footprint.

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