Esagila

[2] The Esagila complex, completed in its final form by Nebuchadnezzar II (604–562 BC) encasing earlier cores, was the center of Babylon.

25×40 meters), and finally the central shrine, consisting of an anteroom and the inner sanctum which contained the statues of Marduk and his consort Sarpanit.

Under the enormous heap of debris that lay over it, Esagila was rediscovered by Robert Koldewey in November 1900, but it did not begin to be seriously examined until 1910.

The tablet, described by George Smith in 1872, disappeared for some time into private hands before it resurfaced and began to be interpreted.

On the front, the tablet explains the history and engineering of the 7-floor high Etemenanki temple (often thought to have inspired the Tower of Babel in the Bible).

Reconstruction of the peribolos at Babylon, including the temple of Esagila, from The excavations at Babylon (1914)
Babylonian clay brick from sixth century BC cuneiform inscription "Nebuchadnezzar support Esagila temple and temple Ezida ( Borsippa ). Eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. Hecht Museum Haifa
Clay tablet mentioning the dimensions of the Temples of Esagila and Ezida at Babylon. From Babylon, Iraq. 8th-7th century BCE. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin