Wolfson Academic posits location of Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, usually associated with the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, but they are unique among that group in that no evidence proving their existence has ever been found.

In the documentary, which was screened on Channel 4 at 8pm on Sunday 24 November, Dr Dalley suggested that archaeologists had been unable to find any remains because they had been looking in the wrong place. Using evidence from an ancient ‘cuneiform' text, which is an early script from the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires, Dr Dalley suggests that the Gardens were actually based in Nineveh and were associated with the reign of Sennacherib, who lived 100 years before Nebuchadnezzar.

Due to the dangerous situation near the ancient city of Nineveh, which is in modern-day Mosul in Northern Iraq, Dr Dalley was unable to visit the exact spot that she believes the Gardens will be found. She believes that more research must be carried out to confirm her findings, but says that her “conviction that the Gardens were in Nineveh remains unshaken”.

Finding Babylon's Hanging Gardens is currently available on the Channel 4 4oD service. 

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