First, in ancient Mesopotamia, the monumental construction device constructed in order to communicate with the gods above was called a ziggurat. A ziggurat is a massive set of three staircases forming a tower connected to the temple. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex comprising many buildings. Ziggurats were not places of public worship but rather homes of gods, with each city having a patron god. At the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, but unfortunately no shrine has survived. In practice, the ziggurat provided priests with an elevated place to escape flooding and also provided security. As the temple and shrines could only be accessed via one of three staircases located in the ziggurat, a small group of guards provided sufficient protection. Its materiality consisted mainly of sun-baked bricks as well as baked bricks for the exterior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Secondly, in Indian Buddhism, the monumental device built to communicate with the gods above was called a stupa. Stupas are the origins of Asian pagodas and are monumental buildings. A stupa is a hemispherical structure containing relics and was primarily used for meditation. It features stairs (Sopanas) in the same way as the ziggurat, but not on such a scale as there were only one or two sets instead of the three that ziggurats boast. A stupa is often surrounded by grilles (Vedika) and gateways (Toranas). Stupas are mainly constructed of stone and earlier versions were constructed of fired bricks and wood. The only common material in stupas and ziggurats was therefore fired bricks. Finally, the differences in shape and structure are demonstrated by the fact that stupas are centralized and circular-shaped designs, populated by columns arranged to surround the structure either rectangular in shape or along the length of the structure. sides to emphasize the space in the middle, while ziggurats are rectangular shapes in plan whose focal point resides at the top of the stairs on a given side instead of directly in the middle. However, stupas and ziggurats are surrounded by other buildings. Stupas are usually surrounded by courtyards, just as ziggurats are surrounded by living spaces or an entire city. Stupas and ziggurats feature open spaces used to display religious objects. One of the main functions of these two building structures is to showcase these objects, whether relics or shrines. Both buildings are used as a marker of a sacred place.