Ziggurats looked like huge stepped pyramids made of mudbrick, with several receding levels stacked on top of a broad base and a temple or shrine on the flat top.

Overall shape

  • Ziggurats had a pyramidal or tower-like form, built in terraces that stepped inward as they rose, a bit like a giant staircase or layered cake.
  • Their bases were usually square or rectangular, and the whole structure could reach impressive heights, sometimes over 40–50 meters when including the temple at the top.

Levels, stairs, and layout

  • Most ziggurats had multiple tiers (often 2–7), each smaller than the one below, creating a stepped profile up to a flat top platform.
  • Long, monumental staircases or ramps climbed the sides, allowing priests to ascend from the ground to the higher levels and the temple shrine.

Materials and colors

  • The core was made of sun-dried mud bricks, with outer faces covered in harder, kiln-fired bricks to protect against weather.
  • These outer bricks were sometimes glazed in different colors, possibly with symbolic or astrological meaning, and often inscribed with the names of kings.

How they appeared in the city

  • Ziggurats rose above temple complexes and surrounding buildings, dominating the skyline of Mesopotamian cities and acting as a visible sacred “mountain” in the flat landscape.
  • At the very top stood a small temple or sacred room, often brightly decorated, which was considered the dwelling place of the city’s main god rather than a public gathering space.

TL;DR: If you saw one in person, a ziggurat would look like a massive, solid, brick step-pyramid with broad terraces, steep stairways, and a small temple shining on its flat summit high above the city.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.