About seven miracles of the Ancient world, familiar to everyone since school times, legends have been formed for thousands of years. Not all unique man-made monuments have survived to descendants, many have been destroyed by ruthless times, but the memory of amazing creations is still alive.
Researchers of the ancient world are arguing about the reality of the existence of many of them, and not only modern scientists doubt it. For example, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who traveled around Mesopotamia, never mentioned the unique work that will be discussed today, although it should have struck him with his greatness.
Myths about finding hanging gardens
In our article, we’ll talk about where the gardens of Babylon are located - one of the most significant wonders of the world that has not survived to this day. Ancient historians claimed that they were located in the first megalopolis of humanity, Babylon. However, modern scholars have recognized the theory as erroneous, saying that the real homeland of the extraordinary garden city is located 400 kilometers from the proposed location.
Dr. Dally's loud statement
One of the high-profile remarks on this subject was made by archaeologist S. Dalli from Oxford, who spent twenty years of her life searching for the legend. The fact is that the history of the hanging gardens is full of all kinds of inaccuracies. It was believed that they are related to the mythical queen Semiramis, who ruled in Assyria.
But according to written sources that have come down to us, it became known that they were allegedly built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king who decided in this way to entertain his beloved wife Amitis. She could not get used to life in a noisy and dusty metropolis, and her husband, who was worried about her, ordered to build a green oasis in which his wife would relax all year.
Monument created in the name of love
And by a wave of the ruler’s hand, a monument was created in the name of love - the gardens of Babylon. What city were they in? Until recently, it was believed that they were located in the middle of the desert of Babylon, and the queen, who came from a clean and green Media, was extremely suffering from a lack of fresh air.
It is known that the hanging gardens were located on a high tower with four tiers connected by pink and white stairs and supported by wide columns. So powerful a layer of earth was laid on tightly connected platforms that even centuries-old trees could be planted. By the way, precisely because of the soaring effect of climbing plants in the air, smoothly transitioning to different levels of terraces, the gardens were called hanging.
Second wonder of the world
As the pundits of antiquity wrote, the erected hanging gardens of Amitis were incredible in size: the height of the building reached 250 meters, and the length and width exceeded one kilometer.
More than 37 thousand liters of water was spent every day on irrigating the plants located on the territory, and an original irrigation system was invented, which allows supporting the life of green spaces using various mechanisms.
Water supply technology was not new for the city, but it is believed that it was here that it reached its perfection. Something similar was in the world famous Tower of Babel. The huge wheel was rotated by slaves, and thus the water rose to the very top of the garden, from which it flowed along the terraces twined with greenery. Outside the palace, thousands of poor people were dying of thirst, because water in those days was worth its weight in gold, and here it flowed like a river to sweeten Amitis's gaze.
The Conquest of Babylon
It is believed that the formidable winner Alexander of Macedon, who conquered Babylon, was subdued by the amazing beauty of the erected palace. Far from the hustle and bustle, he enjoyed the silence, interrupted only by the sounds of rushing water, surrendering to the memories of his native Macedonia. After the death of the ruler holding all the power in his hands, the city ceased to be considered the capital of the world and fell into decay.
Assumptions about the destruction of gardens and the palace
Unfortunately, the second wonder of the world, as it is commonly called, has not reached us, and no one knows whether the elements destroyed it, or this is the work of human hands. There are suggestions that all the vegetation died after the slaves stopped pumping water. And the terrible flood that happened destroyed to the bottom the once magnificent palace, the clay walls of which were soaked, and the massive columns supporting them collapsed.
Find of Koldevey
After several centuries, archaeologists interested in finding a legendary attraction have long searched for the erected gardens of Semiramis in Mesopotamia. The famous scientist R. Koldevey dedicated his life to this. Since 1898, he was engaged in excavations near Baghdad and found stone ruins, declaring them the remains of a Babylonian landmark.
Found ruins
An extensive network of trenches branched in different directions made him think that these might be the very long-awaited gardens. The German archaeologist discovered the remains of a water supply system, with the help of which green plants, brought especially for the queen from various countries, were irrigated.
The found ruins were not perceived by many scholars as the ruins of the Babylonian gardens, and some continued their search, claiming that the miraculous structure was in a completely different place.
Long years of searching
Dr. Dally, inspired by the absence of any mention of the building in written sources from the time of Nebuchadnezzar, launched her own investigation, which lasted more than a dozen years. She painstakingly studied ancient artifacts and decoded cuneiform manuscripts located in the British Museum in order to answer the question that tormented everyone about where the gardens of Semiramis really are.
After a long search, scientific works were rewarded. In 2013, after analyzing all the data collected, Dalli established the location of the mythical structures of the ancient garden. She found references to the constructed “miracle for all people” near the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. The erected magnificent palace along with a broken garden was erected in the VIII century BC.
Where are the gardens of Babylon actually?
The fact is that Nineveh, now on the territory of modern Iraq, is referred to in all manuscripts as ancient Babylon, which led to a distortion of historical facts about the true location of the grandiose structure. According to the Oxford archaeological group, the massive mound in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul preserves the outlandish wonder of the world - the gardens of Babylon.
According to Dr. Dalli, excavations in this place will definitely confirm her theory about the existence of the structure, and the bas-relief found in the city with the image of a wonderful palace with hanging flower terraces once again convinces the theory of specialists.
However, skeptical researchers disagree with this version, saying that other parks will be found in Nineveh, only similar to the gardens of Babylon. The country of Iraq and, in particular, the city of Mosul, captured by ISIS militants, do not allow large-scale studies to confirm or refute the theory of Dr. Dalli.
Unanswered questions
So, now it is impossible to say exactly where the gardens of Babylon are. Yes, not a single drawing has come to our days depicting the second wonder of the world, and all the paintings that have appeared are just a figment of the imagination of artists.
The enigma of the huge construction, erected many centuries ago, excites the minds of modern scholars and ordinary inhabitants, but there is no direct evidence of the exact location of the great structure. Unrelenting disputes between scientists have proved that there were hanging gardens, and the main question remains unanswered.