Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the walls of Babylon were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They were both evidently built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. The green Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, but otherwise there is little evidence for their existence. In fact, there are no Babylonian records of any such gardens having existed. Some incidental evidence gathered at the excavation of the palace at Babylon has accrued, but does not completely substantiate what look like fantastic descriptions. Through the ages, the location may have been confused with gardens that existed at Nineveh, since tablets from there clearly show gardens. Writings on these tablets describe the possible use of something similar to an Archimedes' screw as a process of raising the water to the required height.

The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being balanced from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact conversion of the Greekord kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which means not just "hanging” but "overhanging," as in the case of a terrace or balcony.