The building towered into the air to the height of at least seventy-five feet, and was covered at the top with a great mass of earth, in which there grew not merely flowers and shrubs, but tress also of the largest size.

Water was supplied from the Euphrates through pipes, and was raised (it is said) by a screw, working on the principal of Archimedes.

To prevent the moisture from penetrating into the brick-work and gradually destroying the building, there were interposed between the bricks and the mass of soil, first a layer of reeds mixed with bitumen, then a double layer of burnt brick cemented with gypsum, and thirdly a coating of sheet lead.

The ascent to the garden was by steps.

On the way up, among the arches which sustained the building, were stately apartments, which, must have been pleasant from their coolness.