Miguel Jorge
WriterJournalist. I've spent more than half of my life writing about technology, science, and culture. Before landing here, I worked at Telefónica, Prisa, Globus Comunicación, Hipertextual, and Gizmodo. I'm part of Webedia's cross-section team.
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands. The others, destroyed since antiquity, have left archaeological traces and detailed historical records—except for one: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The structure remains a mystery. With no conclusive archaeological evidence or mention in contemporary Babylonian inscriptions, its existence is a matter of speculation among historians.
Between myth and lost wonder. For centuries, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon have symbolized the grandeur and ingenuity of antiquity. The best-known version is that King Nebuchadnezzar II built them in the 6th century B.C. as a gift to his wife, Amytis, who missed the vegetation of her homeland. These gardens were described as a feat of engineering, with terraces covered in lush vegetation and an advanced irrigation system.
The problem? Despite their status as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, no conclusive archaeological evidence confirms they existed, leading to debate over whether they were a tangible reality or a historical exaggeration. Moreover, Herodotus, the “father of history,” doesn’t mention them in his descriptions of Babylon. The sources supporting the gardens’ existence are Greek and Roman, written centuries after they were supposed to have existed.
Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, relying on the Babylonian priest Berosus, described a “hanging paradise” within the walls of Babylon. But without contemporary evidence, this story remains uncertain.
The city of Babylon (top) and the Hanging Gardens (bottom).
The mystery of their location. Although tradition places the Hanging Gardens near present-day Al Hillah, Iraq, excavations have found no concrete evidence. German archaeologist Robert Koldewey believed he identified their foundations in a vaulted structure in the South Palace, with solid walls and evidence of shafts. But most experts now dismiss this theory, suggesting it was a storage room.
Representation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Another hypothesis. Oxford University scholar Stephanie Dalley suggests the Hanging Gardens were not in Babylon but in Nineveh, in northern Mesopotamia, and were the work of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Based on her analysis of cuneiform inscriptions and reliefs depicting canals and vegetation in Nineveh, she argues that the Assyrians built monumental gardens with an advanced system of aqueducts and water elevation.
However, Dalley theorizes that confusion arose when the Assyrians conquered Babylon in 689 B.C. and renamed Nineveh “New Babylon,” leading to the misattribution of the gardens. Put another way, ancient historians may have confused monarchs and territories in their accounts.
Myth or reality? Descriptions of the gardens speak of terraces supported by stone pillars and a complex hydraulic system that enabled irrigation in the middle of the desert. Some scholars believe maintaining such a structure with the technology of the time would have been highly difficult, reinforcing the idea that the gardens were a propaganda myth designed to magnify Babylon’s power.
The unfathomable wonder. If the gardens existed, their disappearance remains a mystery. Strabo mentioned they were in ruins in the first century B.C. Some suggest Alexander the Great planned to restore them before his death. Over time, changes in the course of the Euphrates River may have buried any evidence.
Despite the uncertainty, the legend of the Hanging Gardens has endured as a symbol of human ambition to create beauty in hostile environments. Whether myth or lost wonder, their story fascinates generations of explorers, historians, and dreamers.
If nothing else, the Hanging Gardens hold a privileged place in history as the most enigmatic of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
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