1. M.Munir Shafqat Rasool Mian Mohammad Sajid Department of Civil Engineering 2 2. “The life of day before yesterday has departed today.” Babylonian Proverb from Ashurbanipal’s Library 3. Hanging gardens of babylon 1 of the 7 ancient wonders of the world 4. Contents: Introduction Location History Background Constructional Information Irrigation System Devastation 5. Introduction: The thing which made gardens of babylones so famous to world is the presence of gardens on all stories of the entire building. Built by King Nebuchadnezzar II 6. There were gardens present on all stories such as grown on the earth. And the city looks like a city in gardens. And it was really so awesome that a number of history writers wrote about this. 7. In ancient writings the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described by Berossus, a Chaldaean priest who lived in the late 4th century BC. In his book Babyloniaca, written around 280 BC, he describes the gardens and attributes them to the great Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. 8. The Greek Geographer Strabo, described the Gardens in first century BC: It consists of vaulted terraces raised one above another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick and asphalt. Illustration by Stephen Francis; photo of an Egyptian shaduf (National Geographic) 9. Location: It is the one in seven wonders of word which does not exist in now a days. And its also a fact that its presence is also a doubt. 10. There are different views of archeologists about its existence: Firstly it was believed that it was located in the city- state of Babylones. This idea was given by the early history writers belonging to that age. 11. The 2nd supposition about the location of the city that it was located near the on the banks of the River Euphrates, south of present-day Baghdad, capital of Iraq. 12. The 3rd and most accurate idea about the existence of the city is given by Dr. Dalley. 3rd and Most Accurate Idea: She said that “ It’s taken many years to find the evidence to demonstrate that the gardens and associated system of aqueducts and canals were built by Sennacherib at Nineveh at the bank of River Tigris and not by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. For the first time it can be shown that the Hanging Garden really did exist” 13. Historical Background: Nobody knows if the Hanging Gardens ever existed, if they did, they certainly would have been a sight to behold. 14. The use of gardens has been a part of history for centuries. In ancient civilizations, gardens were a way of showing one’s worth in society. Famous leader, King Nebuchadnezzar built a beautiful. 15. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World are documented to have been built approximately 2500 years ago in 600 BC. The gardens were built on orders of King Nebuchadnezzar II, 16. There is also Described a loved story behind construction of the city is that, the King had the gardens constructed for his wife, Amytis, who was homesick of her home country, Persia. 17. The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos, or the Latin wordpensilis, which means not just "hanging", but "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony. 18. It is sometimes called The Hanging Gardens of Semiramis referring to the legendary Queen Semiramis. 19. The Queen ruled Babylon's for 5 years and some believed that Hanging garden of Babylon's were constructed by her. 20. Constructional information: Deodars Siculus described the hanging gardens as a "series of super imposed terraces of reducing size, rising to a height of 75 feet." [H.W.F. Saggs ] 21. Strabo said it was much larger, with a square base with each side 400 feet long. The water could have been brought from the Euphrates River to the garden by irrigation and a series of buckets or pulleys. 22. Further he stated that the platforms on which the garden stood consisted of huge slabs of stone, covered with layers of asphalt and tiles. Over this was put “a covering with sheets of lead” that the wet which drenched through the earth might not rot the foundation. Upon all these was laid earth of a convenient depth, sufficient for the growth of the greatest trees.” 23. Gardens would have been multi-level terraces supported by baked brick columns. These columns would have been filled with dirt to allow large plantings and trees to root and grow. 24. To build the gardens the first thing that they did was to make a series of brick arches to hold them. They were ten stories high, and had a shaded courtyard underneath. On top of them, the workmen built brick terraces. They lined the terraces with lead and put a thick layer of soil on top. On the platform Nebuchadnezzar ordered his men to plant every kind of tree and plant, importing them from all over the kingdom. 25. These gardens consists the plants of almonds, juniper, dates, olives, plums, pears and grapes. Beautiful trees such as cypress, oak, ash, willows and firs were planted as well as ferns, date palms, vines, aloe plants and flowers such as rock roses, water lilies and incense bushes. The wood from the trees were also a practical resource for construction, with palm wood being adequate with its strong and hard to rot properties. 26. The entire structure measured around 400 feet by 400 feet. According to ancient accounts, the gardens were built like sloped hillsides with several levels of flowerbeds. 27. Garden Construction: Construction of the garden wasn't only complicated by getting the water up to the top, but also by having to avoid the liquid ruining the foundations once it was released. Since stone was difficult to get on the Mesopotamian plain, most of the architecture in Babel utilized brick. 28. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, stated that the platforms on which the garden stood consisted of huge slabs of stone (otherwise unheard of in Babel), covered with layers of reed, asphalt and tiles. Over this was put "a covering with sheets of lead, that the wet which drenched through the earth might not rot the foundation. The bricks were composed of clay mixed with chopped straw and baked in the sun. These were then joined with bitumen, a slimy substance, which acted as a mortar. 29. . Upon all these was laid earth of a convenient depth, sufficient for the growth of the greatest trees. When the soil was laid even and smooth, it was planted with all sorts of trees, which both for greatness and beauty might delight the spectators. 30. Irrigation System: If Babylon's buildings boasted of its great wealth, then the gardens would've demonstrated the engineering skills of their architect. It's no small feat to keep plants thriving in the desert, but to transport water to flowers perched atop a nearly five-story building is a monstrous challenge. 31. The gardens would have relied on the Euphrates as their irrigation source, and the water would likely have been transported through a pumping system made of reeds and stone and stored in a massive holding tank. From the tank, a shaduf (a manually-operated water- lifting device) would have delivered water to the plants. Irrigation System: 32. Three systems of irrigation are assumed to be used for irrigation in the city: Chain Pump system Archemidius screw Crain Type Shedopes 33. Chain Pump System: The Babylonians created a water pump that transported water from the Euphrates River up to the Hanging Gardens. They created the pump by attaching buckets to a chain. The chain was connected to two big wheels at the top and bottom. These would allow the chain to come back up after it went to the bottom to retrieve the water. 34. A historian by the name of Philo, described these water pumps: Slaves powered the chain by pulling it so that it would continue to move. As the chain moved, the buckets would go into the river and fill with water. They tipped over at the top of the pump so that the high gardens could be reached and irrigated. 35. Evidence of these pumps may have been discovered in 1899 by the archeologist, Robert Koldewey. Evidence: 36. Babylonian engineers designed an advanced system of shafts to carry buckets of water continuously. The water carried in the buckets filled the fountains and pools in the Garden. The energy to allow this was supplied by slaves turning massive screws. This well system was the first and only of its kind in Babylon. They also used massive slabs of stone, which was unheard of in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding the ground. 37. Archimedes Screw: An alternate method of getting the water to the top of the gardens might have been a screw pump. This device looks like a trough with one end in the lower pool from which the water is taken with the other end overhanging an upper pool to which the water is being lifted. 38. Fitting tightly into the trough is a long screw. As the screw is turned, water is caught between the blades of the screw and forced upwards. When it reaches the top, it falls into the upper pool. 39. Turning the screw can be done by a hand crank. A different design of screw pump mounts the screw inside a tube, which takes the place of the trough. In this case the tube and screw turn together to carry the water upward. 40. Crain Type Shedopes It consisted upon a bucket, a rope, a liver and supports. 41. What remains today is just like bricks and rocks. Remains: 42. Devastation There are different possibilities which are described for its ruined. 43. Lack of Maintainess May the lack of water had faced as and that caused of its ruined. 44. Earth Quick: And the third supposition is that a continuous series of earth quick may had destroyed it. 45. Army Attack: May the army of any other country attacked upon it , and destroy it. 46. Sources: http://listverse.com/2007/08/01/the-7-wonders-of- the-ancient-world/ http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/5983/pages/gardens.htm http://www.kidsgen.com/wonders_of_the_world/han ging_gardens.htm