Abecedar:
Hi all. I’ve gone through all my saved images and I have a burning question.
Does a Ziggurat have to be square (or squarish)?
Or is that bordering on heresy?
Zanko:
According to the German Wikipedia page, a ziggurat was built on a rectangular (not necessarily quadratic) base. If this is the same for the chaos dwarves, I can’t say for sure. From a purely aesthetic point of view, I would personally only choose a quatratic form.
:hashut
Jasko:
According to the German Wikipedia page, a ziggurat was built on a rectangular (not necessarily quadratic) base. If this is the same for the chaos dwarves, I can't say for sure. From a purely aesthetic point of view, I would personally only choose a quatratic form.I wouldn't necessarily say that. Look at the Ziggurat of Ur, I'd say it is aeshetically pleasing :) and would definitely be fitting for Chaos Dwarfs!
:hashut
Zanko
*edit*
Muaha, I don't know whether it is my browser or my BBforum settings or whatever, but the Ziggurat is of course not called Ziggurat of Your but Ziggurat of "U""r"", something just keeps changing it :P
Abecedar:
“U’r” is a very nice example. and try as I might I haven’t been able to find any basis for my belief in a non square or rectangle Zigurat.
But call me a Heretic, for some reason I feel the need to create something else.
Jasko:
"U'r" is a very nice example. and try as I might I haven't been able to find any basis for my belief in a non square or rectangle Zigurat.Sure thing, I'd say a round Ziggurat would work 100% and look just great. Just have a look at the classic depictions of the Tower of Babel. If that doesn't scream Chaos Dwarfs then I don't know what (especially the second one).
But call me a Heretic, for some reason I feel the need to create something else.
Abecedar
Admiral:
Mesopotamian and Elamite ziggurats were all squares and rectangles. All their architecture tended toward that shape, so little surprise there. I’ve always been a big fan of square ziggurats.
However, for fantasy the sky is the only limit. Let your imagination run loose! If you don’t want a square or rectangle, then how about a hexagon, lightning bolt, eight-pointed chaos star, octagon or bull’s head shape for the ground plan? Still with stacked terraces, of course. Nice idea, Jasko!
Speaking of poetic license, Creative Assembly based their largest eastern temple model file in Rome Total War on the great mosque of Samarra, by giving it a circular spiral staircase tower. Small wonder; its look does give the sense of being a distant descendant to the ancient ziggurat tradition:
Small eastern temple from Rome Total War:
Large eastern temple from the same:
Hashut’s Blessing:
Sorry to resurrect a thread, but to add my own two cents, usually a ziggurat is square/rectangular and the main reason (I would guess) is because the blocks used to build them were and they’re easy shapes to make as well.
That said, there’s no reason your Chaos Dwarfs couldn’t make an irregular shape (maybe a box with thrusts sticking out of each edge, so it looks like a box on top of a cross, for example) or rounded/oval or triangular (using the pyramids of Giza as an example of the premise) and so on.
Don’t be afraid to try your heresy - it’s what birthed our kind, after all 