The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the seven wonders of the world. According to ancient texts, the legendary gardens were known throughout the world for their magnificent ponds, intricate terraces and floating plants. Meanwhile, for many centuries, scientists have tried to find physical evidence that these gardens actually existed. According to one researcher, after conducting a thorough analysis of one of the texts, in fact, archaeologists were looking in the wrong place.
The fact is that most experts assumed that one of the wonders of the world was located in the province of Babylon on the territory of modern Iraq. However, for many centuries no one was able to find even material evidence of its existence. A detailed analysis of the ancient manuscripts showed that the search was carried out in the wrong place.
In fact, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are buried in the ancient city of Nineveh, which was previously located near modern Mosul, according to Dr. Stephanie Dalli of the University of Oxford. For the past 20 years, Dr. Dalli has been trying to figure out the exact location of the gardens, which have recently become increasingly perceived as a myth, since there was no physical evidence of their existence.
Many researchers believed that the gardens were built around 600 BC. This assumption was based on ancient texts that were written several centuries after the creation of the gardens of Semiramis. So, in one of the ancient texts it is stated that these gardens were built by the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar in the province of Babylon - Iraq, for his wife Amiitis. Meanwhile, in none of the texts that were written by the emperor or his wife, these gardens are not mentioned.
Dr. Dalli took these facts into account when deciding to study these texts in more detail. In the process of work, she managed to find a prism covered in cuneiform in the British Museum in London. Ancient people have used cuneiform writing since the Babylonian era. Cuneiform was also used in the Assyrian Empire.
The discovered prism contained detailed information about a king named Sennacherib, who was the ruler of the Assyrian Empire and lived a century before Nebuchadnezzar. Also, the document contained references to a palace built near the Assyrian capital - Nineveh. According to the essay, a garden was laid out on the territory of the palace, which was referred to in the text as "a miracle for all people." By order of Sennacherib, the grandson of Assurbanipal, an image of these wonderful gardens was made on the panel of this palace.
Dr. Dalli decided to combine ancient maps and her own records in which she analyzed ancient documents. As a result, she was able to find a mention of the alleged location of one of the wonders of the world. Not far from the place she established, where, according to the expert, the ruins of the palace could be located, a large mound was found, which, according to Dr. Dalli, is the best place for the hanging gardens of Babylon.
In addition, the scientist claims that her version is confirmed by a bas-relief that was found in Nineveh, which clearly shows the image of the palace with flowers hanging from the terraces. In addition, Nineveh is also known to specialists as New Babylon, which may be the reason for the confusion with the names.
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